Losing Faith
by Dusk Angels
Summary: When Chris agrees to tutor Faith Cullen; a girl with a passion for art and a hatred of math, he finds out that friendship can build from the strangest of places. But when the girl everyone overlooked gets noticed... is that really what she wants?
1. Chapter 1

Seventeen-year-old Christopher Perry Halliwell toyed anxiously with a stray thread of his jeans while he waited outside the principal's office. After being summoned out of his last class for the day, he had spent ten minutes waiting in the reception with only the constantly clacking of computer keys to keep him company.

The door opened with a creak, making Chris's head snap up.

"Ahh, Mr. Halliwell, excellent of you to show up. Sorry to keep you waiting!" Principal Hayne greeted him warmly.

"Not a problem sir." Chris replied.

The principal lead him out of the office and down the hallway, bypassing classroom after classroom.

"Now, Mr. Halliwell, I know that you are one of Mr. Jacobson's brightest math students, correct?"

"Yes?" Chris replied slowly, not really getting the point.

"Well there is a student here whose mother has requested some form of tutoring for her daughter and I was wondering if you would mind doing it. Feel free to say no."

Chris paused; Principal Hayne wanted him to tutor someone? Chris really didn't see the harm in it.

"Okay, sir. Who is it?"

"Wonderful! We are on our way to meet her right now. Oh and Chris this will be going on your activities list as well."

The activities list was something that the school had been running for years. Every time a student completed an activity it was added to a list. The year twelve student with the most when they graduated was given an award. It looked very good on college applications they were told.

Principal Hayne stopped outside a door and pushed it open. The lights were all turned off and the shades were drawn, making the room remarkably dark, but light filtered through the gaps in the shades, casting a depressing glow on the room. The scent of paint invaded Chris's senses but couldn't work out why it was so strong if nobody was in here. Surely nobody would work in darkness?

Principal Hayne flicked on the light, brightness filling the room to reveal a young woman approximately Chris's age standing over an art table, paintbrush in hand; eyes squinted against the bright light.

"Christopher, this is Faith Cullen. Faith, Christopher has agreed to help tutor you in math like your mother requested."

Faith looked Chris over before she returned her brush to the pot of paint and continued with her work.

Chris likewise looked her up and down, taking in her appearance. Her jeans were ripped and torn at the knees, her shirt looked far too big for her. Her entire body was rather thin but not dangerously so. Unruly long black hair was swept up into a careless ponytail at the base of her neck and Chris noted that her skin was a sickly pale. Her hand moved over the painting, allowing Chris to glimpse at bitten and ragged fingernails.

"Faith?" Principal Hayne said sternly, "Chris is giving up his time to tutor you so it is expected that you will cooperate."

She gave a vague mumble, moving away to wash her brushes.

Chris decided to make the first move, outstretching his hand to her.

"Hi. I'm Chris."

Dull green eyes looked at his hand with an emotion Chris couldn't identify.

"Faith. Excuse me."

She bustled past, replacing the brushes before turning back to them. Principal Hayne was the first to speak.

"Well then, Mr. Halliwell I will leave it to you and Miss Cullen to arrange study times. I have to get back but I trust the two of you will use the remaining time before homeroom to sort out your study times. Thank-you Christopher."

Principal Hayne disappeared out the door, leaving the two in silence.

"So," Chris began conversationally, "I haven't got anything on these days so when is a good study time for you?"

She flicked her eyes to his, "Whenever."

"How about tomorrow," he suggested awkwardly with a shrug, "In the library? At lunch?"

"Sure." She replied in the same, flat tone.

Chris sighed and buried his hands in his pockets.

Homeroom started in ten minutes and it would take him that long to get back to class.

"What are you working on?" he queried, genuinely interested in what she had been painting when he had arrived in the room.

Her hand paused above the paper, black pen inches from the artwork.

"Art project. I had a spare periods so I figured I may as well do my other work."

"Can I see?'

Faith finished writing, stepped back from the desk and capped the pen.

"Sure."

Chris made his way around the desk and was immediately amazed at the beautiful work.

The painting before him looked masterfully done, each brush stroke painted with care. The delicate beach scene painted in varying shades of gray on the paper stuck out amongst the contrasting border of onyx. Her name was scrawled in the bottom corner.

"It's amazing." Chris praised.

A blush tainted her pallid cheeks.

"Really?" she mumbled with her head dipped to the ground.

"Of course?" he told her truthfully, "But can ask why you were painting in the dark? I can barely paint in the light!" he joked, trying not to make it seem like he was prying.

"The light hurt my eyes. Headache." She answered, something in her tone told him it was slightly more then that, but he did not pry, knowing that it was not his place.

The homeroom bell rang causing Faith to jump slightly. She grabbed her painting and rested it on the drying rack.

"I have to go. See you tomorrow in the library. Nice meeting you Chris."

Without another word she quickly disappeared out the door.

Chris sighed, leaving the room as well with a question he had been hesitant to ask in his mind.

He had never seen her around before, was she a new student? He had been unwilling to ask in case she was, in fact, not a new student and he had just failed to notice her.

Swiveling his lock, his locker opened allowing Chris to grab his books.

Harry Hunter, Chris's friend came up behind him, clapping his shoulder.

"What'd you do? Why'd Hayne want to see you?" he pried unashamedly.

"Wants me to tutor a girl in math." Chris replied tonelessly, adding another book to his ever-weight-gaining bag.

Harry's eyes brightened, "Dude who is she? Is she hot?"

"Her name is Faith Cullen and is that _all _you care about?"

"Who?" he asked, stumped at the name Chris had given.

"Faith. Cullen." Chris dragged out the name slowly, pronouncing ever syllable clearly.

"Don't know her," Harry shrugged, "She new?"

"Don't know."

"Oh well. Later!"

Harry disappeared down the hall and Chris closed his locker only to see Faith crossing the hall, silently sliding between people as if she wasn't there. One of the jocks slammed into her, causing her sketchbook to fall from her bag. Faith failed to notice and kept walking, ignoring the lack of apology from the boy.

Chris bent down and retrieved the sketchbook from the ground. He caught a glimpse inside and saw what looked like a group of children at a cafeteria table.

"HEY!" He called down the hall, "FAITH!"

Faith stopped and turned around, clearly surprised that someone had noticed her walking.

Chris walked towards her with the sketchbook in his hand.

"You dropped this."

A smile twitched at her lips, "Thank-you Chris."

"You're welcome."

He gave a wave and ducked into his homeroom just as the final bell sounded.

"I'm tutoring Faith Cullen." Chris announced that night at the dinner table when his mother asked how his day had been.

"Who?" Wyatt asked with a mouthful of spaghetti.

"Wyatt!" Piper reprimanded.

Wyatt swallowed and gave a grin.

"Who?" he repeated, shoveling another forkful of food into his mouth as if it was his last meal.

Wyatt had gone off to college but had stayed in San Francisco, still occasionally coming back to the manor for laundry and food.

"I don't actually know," Chris, answered guiltily, "I thought she might be new but I looked in the yearbook and she has been there since freshman year with me. I just never noticed her."

Piper smiled, "Well then it's an excellent chance to get to know her. What are you tutoring her in?"

"Math."

Chris replayed the entire story to his parents from the summons to the office to the sketchbook incident in the hallway.

"Well," Leo began, "I agree with your mother, I think it is a good opportunity to get to know her."

"I suppose." Chris agreed.

Maybe he and Faith could be friends.

**A/N- Hi everybody! Yes, I know on the profile it says that ALL fics will be co-written but this story is just written by me, Hellcat. So I hope you enjoy it. Next chapter up soon. (Hopefully)**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: CHARMED AND ANYTHING YOU MAY RECOGNISE IN THIS STORY DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. FAITH CULLEN BELONGS TO ME AND IF YOU WISH TO USE HER IN ANY STORY PLEASE ASK PERMISSION FIRST.**

* * *

The next day, Chris found himself at his usual table watching Harry imitate a walrus using breadsticks shoved up his nose. Carolyn Marvich, Emmalee Tompkins and Mary Winsworth watched in horror as Harry proceeded to remove them and eat them while Benjamin Harris and Jackson Carle cheered him on.

"GROSS!" the girls shrieked in horror.

Chris laughed, glancing at his watch for the fifth time. He was meeting Faith in the library in ten minutes.

"YO! Chris!" Harry asked, "When are you meeting that chick for 'tutoring?'"

He said the last word with a wriggle of his eyebrows; clearly indicating that he thought there would be more then that done.

"Chick?" Carolyn interrupted, eager for gossip, "What chick?"

"Hope Cullen." Harry supplied, reaching across the table and snagging a pear from Benjamin's plate.

"**Faith** Cullen, Harry, **Faith** Cullen." Chris corrected, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever."

Carolyn's eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

"Faith Cullen? Miss Art-Freak?"

She shrieked with laughter, her hot-pink nails snatching her expensive phone from her purse.

"I _have _to tell Joy!"

Joy Hart was the school 'queen bee' anyone who was anyone was in her 'clique'. And anyone _not _in her little group was automatically a loser. She was basically a female version of what Wyatt had been when he was in school; popular, surrounded by friends, the school golden-child, the list went on. Only Joy was the opposite of Wyatt in attitude. Wyatt was a friend with everyone… Joy was nice to nobody.

Carolyn was one of Joy's 'fallbacks', if Joy ever found herself without a groupie for a day she ran to Carolyn for friendship. Harry and Carolyn were dating, thus the new addition to Chris's usual lunch table.

On a normal day you would find Chris, Harry, Benjamin, Jackson Emmalee and Mary crowded around the table together.

Chris narrowed his eyes, "Why is it funny?"

Carolyn gave him an 'are-you-stupid' look and tossed her caramel hair.

"Because Faith Cullen is probably one of the school's most outcasted freaks! DUH! She has ALWAYS sat by herself since freshman year, spends all of her time in the library or art room and have you _seen _what she eats for lunch? Cafeteria food! Do you know how many calories we are talking there?"

Every member of the table looked at their trays, piled with food dripping in grease. Carolyn pointedly crunched down on a carrot stick and waved her near-perfect nails.

"Anyway, she barely talks to anyone and her sense of style is practically nonexistent."

Carolyn pointed over Chris's shoulder so he followed the direction she was pointing and, to his great surprise, saw Faith sitting alone at a table, book open beside her tray of half-eaten food. Today she was wearing paint-splattered jeans and a pale blue tee. Her hair was tied up into a low ponytail again.

"Has she always sat there?" Chris asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Always." Carolyn replied, dialing Joy's number, even though the cheer captain was only across the cafeteria.

A knot formed in Chris's stomach. Faith had always sat alone in at the table _just _behind them? How could he have not noticed that?

"Hey," Emmalee said softly, touching his arm, "I never noticed her either. Don't feel bad."

Chris smiled at Benjamin's girlfriend and looked around the table.

"Please tell me we aren't the only ones who have never really noticed her there before." Emmalee pleaded.

Harry was too busy trying to shove spaghetti down Carolyn's throat to notice what was being said but Jackson and Mary nodded.

"I didn't notice her. I feel really bad. She looks sort of lonely." Mary whispered, tucking her strawberry blonde hair behind her ears.

Jackson nodded in agreement and wrapped a strong arm around Mary's shoulders. Chris turned to look at Faith again but found the table abandoned.

"Where'd she go?" he asked, confused.

"What time were you meeting her in the library?" Harry questioned, abandoning his quest to feed his girlfriend.

"Twelve-thirty." Chris replied, wondering what it had to do with anything.

"It's twenty-nine past now."

Chris glanced at his watch and realized, to his horror, that it was in fact only a minute before half past.

"Bye guys! I have to go!"

A chorus of goodbye's came from the table as Chris disappeared out the doors, heading towards the library. Three minutes later he reached the door to the library and pushed it open, feeling a blast of cold air hit his skin.

Faith was already set up at a table; calculator, math textbook, notebook and pens ready, her eyes trained on the novel in her lap.

"Sorry I'm late." Chris apologized.

"Two minutes, thirty seven seconds. No problem." She replied, not looking at him.

Chris cocked an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Okay. I figure we should start with the basics. What are you having the most trouble with?"

Faith placed her bookmark in the page, closed the book and held her notebook in the crook of her arm.

"The math part."

Chris sighed and opened his own textbook.

"Okay then, we should probably start with some easy problems and then work our way up. Did you get any homework last lesson?"

"I wasn't in my last lesson. I haven't been at school all week except for yesterday and I didn't have math then. Mr. Porter isn't at school, today so I couldn't get anything from him."

"Is there anyone from your class you could ask?" Chris queried.

She gave him a level stare before giving him a blunt and direct answer.

"No."

Chris nodded and tried a different approach.

"Well what was the last thing you did in math?"

Faith silently opened her notebook and showed him the page. Notes on algebra were scrawled in slightly messy, but readable handwriting. Flowers and birds decorated the margins, clearly showing that Faith had probably been paying little attention.

Chris also noted that the date was from the previous week.

"Okay then, we'll start with some simple algebra."

Faith snorted at the word simple but said nothing else.

Chris opened his textbook and began to explain how to do the problem in the simplest manner possible. A few minutes later he lowered his pen and looked up.

"And then you have your answer. Sound simple?"

Faith nodded, taking her notebook back from his hands and eying the problem.

"Here's some from the page you wrote own in your book. I'll help you through them and-"

"It's fine. I think I may actually understand. I'll tell you if I need help."

With that said, Faith propped her book up in her hands, picked up a pencil and began to write out the problems, eyes flicking back and forth from the notebook.

"Uh-Faith are you sure because-"

"Chris, it's okay. You can work on other stuff if you want and I'll ask for help. I'm pretty sure I have it."

Chris eyed her but removed his own math homework and began to write. Every so often he would hear Faith's pencil stop but then quickly continue writing. Something nagged at the back of his mind though. He had explained the problem to her in a simple manner but if she were in desperate need of tutoring she would have asked for help long before now.

"Faith," Chris began, raising his head.

"Don't move." Faith instructed him suddenly.

Chris froze instantly. After years of hunting demons he had learned very quickly that when you were told not to move, it was usually wise not to move.

"Why?" he asked slowly.

"Because the light hits you all wrong when you do. Move your head back to where it was."

The words registered in his brain and Chris immediately realized why she wasn't struggling with math. She wasn't doing it.

Despite protests; Chris raised his head and pulled down the notebook, only to find the beginnings of a sketch of him on the paper.

"Faith," he started, not wanting to sound like an annoying teacher or parent, "I thought you were doing your math. I'm supposed to be helping you."

Faith sighed, "Look, Chris. I appreciate your help and all but I don't need help in math. I don't need to pass it."

"You do to graduate."

"I don't plan on graduating. I have other plans."

Chris raised an eyebrow.

"Well I was asked to tutor you so obviously someone thinks you are going to graduate."

Faith rolled her eyes.

"Chris, look. I don't plan on graduating so I don't need you to help me study. End of story."

The bell rang through the library, alerting them that there was five minutes to make it to class.

"Where are you going next?" Chris asked, trying to re-establish a conversation and steer it towards tutoring.

The look she threw him was icy and sharp.

"Miss Melville's English. Room 172."

Chris stopped and watched as Faith disappeared down the hall. No way.

He opened his timetable and groaned, nearly smacking himself round the back of his head for his stupidity and lack of observation skills.

There in black ink was the words '_Miss K. Melville- English. Rm 172'_

Faith had been in his English class for the past month of year twelve. He just hadn't noticed.

Chris hurried down the hall towards his classroom. He was such an idiot.

* * *

Wyatt wiped a tear away from his eye, much to Chris's displeasure.

"You didn't notice that she was in your class for an entire month_?_" Wyatt howled, laughing even harder.

Chris had returned home after an awful day and recounted his tale to Wyatt- who found the entire situation rather amusing.

"Don't you have an apartment to be in?" he scowled sullenly.

"I'm sorry Baby Brother but either she is that good at being invisible or you are just too unobservant."

Chris threw up his hands, "That's just it Wyatt! Only a handful of people actually knew who she was!"

Wyatt crossed his arms. Tilting back on the chair tediously, he tried to think of something to make his brother feel better.

"Well then maybe it isn't you. Maybe she is just very good at not standing out."

"I guess. But how am I supposed to tutor her if she doesn't want to be tutored?"

"You could always try _not_ tutoring her." Wyatt suggested.

"But Principal Hayne asked me to. I can't just tell him that she doesn't want to be tutored because he told her she was expected to cooperate. So she'd probably get in trouble and be even angrier at me!"

Wyatt rolled his eyes and slammed his chair to the ground.

"Well I can't help you, sorry! Now I have some studying to do so… shoo!"

"Can't you study at your apartment?"

"No. Here has more of a familiar atmosphere and it's calming and-"

"Wyatt." Chris interrupted.

"Mom's making roast." Wyatt finished with a Cheshire cat grin.

"You are pathetic Wyatt." Chris laughed.

A knock sounded politely on the door and Paige poked her head through.

"Hello my lovely nephews. I just dropped in for a chat! Chris there is a young lady at the door asking for you."

"There is?" Chris asked.

Wyatt whistled and clapped him on the back.

"Well go and see her baby brother. Don't keep a lady waiting."

Chris raked his brain, trying to think of who it might be. Emmalee and Mary were on dates with Benjamin and Jackson respectively and Carolyn wouldn't be caught dead three feet from the house.

Chris, Paige and Wyatt ambled down the stairs and Chris stopped dead when he found Faith sitting politely on the kitchen stool talking to Piper, Leo and Henry.

"Faith." He said slowly.

"This is Faith?" Wyatt asked, intrigued.

"Hello Chris." Faith said politely, slipping off the stool and handing him a textbook.

"I took your math book by mistake today. Sorry about that. I was going to give it to Harry to give back to you but he was too preoccupied with running from Principal Hayne to take it. He did, however, manage to shout your address over his shoulder before he passed."

Chris took the textbook from her hands and became acutely aware that every set of eyes was turned on him and Faith.

"Why didn't you return it on Monday?"

"I'm not going to be at school next week. At all. Family stuff." Faith replied offhandedly, clearly making that point that she would like the subject dropped.

"Oh. Okay, well thank-you."

Faith's lips twitched at the corners, "You're welcome. But I've changed my mind about something. When I get back to school I was wondering if you could help me with my math again. I apologize for my behaviour today. It was uncalled for especially since you took the time to help me study."

"No," Chris interjected quickly, "Not your fault. But I will help you when you come back to school."

She smiled again and Paige coughed.

"Oh! Faith this is my Aunt Paige and Uncle Henry and my brother Wyatt and my mom and dad."

Faith threw a small smile at Paige and flicked her gaze to Wyatt.

"Nice to meet you."

Wyatt nodded politely, nudging his brother in the side and giving a wicked grin when Faith turned her back.

"It was nice meeting all of you. I'll show myself out."

Faith gave a small wave and disappeared out of the kitchen. The front door opened and closed quietly and silence blanketed the kitchen for minute.

"What a well mannered young lady." Piper approved.

Wyatt looked at his brother and gave another grin.

"So." He said, eyes shining.

"What so?" Chris asked, not sure if he wanted to know where Wyatt was going with this.

"That's Faith?"

"That's Faith." Chris stated.

"She seems nice." Wyatt commented.

"And what do you mean by that?" Leo questioned, knowing where his son was probably going to take this.

"Nothing, nothing. How's the roast coming?"

Piper rolled her eyes then directed them at her youngest son. He was frowning at the textbook Faith had handed him.

"What's wrong Peanut?"

"Nothing." He answered distractedly, "I'll be back okay. I need to check if I left my phone in my car."

Chris grabbed his jacket and proceeded out to the driveway. He clutched the textbook in his hand and a small crumpled piece of paper in the other. A small piece of paper had been tucked inside the book, telling him to come out to his car.

He rounded the garden bed and found Faith leaning up against the car he had saved and paid for all on his own.

"What is it Faith? Is something wrong?" he asked, confused as to why she would go to such lengths to get him outside with her.

"Chris, I just wanted to apologize. A real apology. The one inside was pretty vague. But your parents can be quite intimidating I hear so I figured I'd get you outside first. Parents sort of scare me."

"You don't need to apologize-"

"Yes I do. I was very rude to you today, especially before English. I just don't have the same plans a lot of people in my life are expecting me to follow and it's getting a little tiring so I'm snapping at everyone. And I figured I should apologize."

"It's okay." Chris assured her, "It was none of my business in the first place."

Faith nodded and wrapped her arms around her body in an attempt to ward off the cool, dusk air.

"I should probably get going. So, I'll see you when I get back to school and we can arrange our next tutoring session then."

"Bye Faith."

"Goodbye Chris."

The pale girl headed down the driveway and along the street. Chris looked back up at the huge manor and saw the living room curtain close abruptly. With a sigh he headed back inside, knowing that he was about to face the Spanish Inquisition.

He closed the manor door and shouted towards the kitchen.

"Am I not allowed a private life?"

Paige looked at him excitedly, "Are the two of you dating?"

"No. She just wanted to give me a proper apology for how she acted today. I think she was too embarrassed to do it in front of you."

"Oh, okay." Paige said airily, clearly not believing a word Chris had said.

Henry cracked his knuckles and yawned.

"We better get going. Good seeing you all."

Paige nodded and the two disappeared in a flurry of orbs.

Leo crossed his arms and looked at Chris.

"Poor girl, is she sick?"

"I don't know. We aren't exactly best buddies dad, I've only known her since yesterday. Why?"

"Oh her skin is just very pale. She is probably recovering from that flu that's going around. Oh well. I'm going to go and buy more milk for us seeing as _someone _cleaned us out."

Wyatt gave a sheepish grin and laughed.

"Sorry."

Leo shook his head and headed for the car.

Chris placed his head on the bench and sighed. He couldn't quite pinpoint it, but something was wrong with Faith.

"MOM I DON'T NEED TO GRADUATE! THERE IS NO POINT!" Faith shouted angrily.

"Do not speak to me in that tone Faith Isabella Cullen, I am your _mother!_"

"But mom, you need to accept the fact that I'm probably not going to graduate!" Faith yelled in vain.

"NO! You will graduate and you will graduate with a passing grade in math Damn it!"

Faith closed her mouth and let a solitary tear drip down her pallid cheek. Her mother let out a heavy breath and her eyes softened.

"I'm sorry Faith. I shouldn't have yelled. Now is not the time to fight. Now, how was your first tutoring session with Chris?"

"Fine. He showed me how to do some equations and his explanation actually made some sense." Faith began sullenly.

"Well of course it would," her mother, agreed, "He's the son of a Charmed One. Must be very brainy."

"He is. But I think that is more to do with excessive studying more then his bloodline mom."

"I suppose. Why don't you tell him you're a witch dear? Maybe he could help you work out what your powers are!"

"Mom. I don't want to know what my powers are. Besides, I'm only _half _witch. Maybe I didn't get any powers."

"Nonsense." Her mother brushed off the comment as if it was nothing and telekinetically levitated a small herb jar towards her.

"You have powers, you just don't use them."

"Because I don't know what they are." Faith finished.

"Exactly. Maybe Chris can help you discover your powers. I'm glad you have made a new friend Faith."

Her mother bustled out of the kitchen and Faith sighed.

"I don't want friends." She whispered to the empty kitchen. "I just want to be normal."

* * *

**A/N- Thank-you for the reviews, favorites and alerts! I'm so happy! Now I just want to clarify that I have nothing against cheerleaders or any school stereotype. Those kinds of stereotypes drive me crazy but for this story I figured that there needed to be some kind of 'villain' and in all the movies it is the popular girl. So I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you take the time to leave me a review. **


	3. Chapter 3

The next week passed without incident. Well, as little incident as you can get in a family where you fight demons.

Chris had spoken with Faith's math teacher and successfully managed to get the math work plan for the semester so he could help Faith study. Her math teacher had been pleased to see Chris helping her, as he was very concerned that she would fail to graduate if she did not pass his class.

Chris slammed his locker and found Faith standing calmly on the other side.

"Morning Chris."

"Morning Faith." He replied with a smile.

Faith was looking paler then usual; shadows under her eyes, which seemed to be duller then they were when he had last seen her.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, watching, as Faith seemed to sway slightly where she stood.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just the flu." She replied with a sniff.

"So," she began, tucking a stray lock of her unruly hair behind her ear, "When is our next study session?"

"About that," Chris began nervously, "while you were away I agreed to help with the dance next week so all of my lunch hours are taken. But if you want we can study at my place this week."

Faith seemed to contemplate the idea before nodding slowly.

"Sure. Any particular day? I can't study Wednesdays though. Prior engagements."

Chris nodded in understanding, "How about this afternoon? I can drive you back to the manor."

Faith considered this, holding her bottom lip between her teeth before nodding slowly.

"Okay. I suppose. Meet you in the student car park after homeroom?"

"Sounds great."

The final bell for homeroom sounded, announcing that the two were now late for homeroom. Faith departed with a small wave.

Chris watched her walk away, sketchbook in hand and couldn't help but feel that there was something she wasn't telling him.

* * *

The whiteboard hazed in and out of focus and Professor Middletown's voice dulled to a drone as Chris's gaze turned to the window. Birds flew through the gray sky, small droplets of water spattered against the windowpane and Chris felt his mind wander far, far away from his Chemistry class teacher.

A shrill tone ripped through Chris's head, alerting him that (finally) lunch had begun. Gathering his books Chris headed for the door, thankful that his zoning out had been towards the end of class and not the beginning.

Ten minutes later Chris dropped into his seat beside Harry. Carolyn was perched beside Joy, four tables down, fawning over her new hair extensions.

Mary shifted uncomfortably in her chair, prompting her boyfriend to ask what was wrong.

"Um… I feel really bad. This morning in homeroom I realized that Faith is in it."

Chris looked up from his sandwich, his gaze immediately locking on Mary's guilty face.

"But we've all been in homerooms since we got here."

Mary nodded tearfully, "I know! And I felt so bad that I hadn't noticed before! So I went and talked to her for a bit. She likes to read and paint and she has pretty good taste in music. She likes stuff from the 1980s through the early 2000s as well as some modern stuff too. But I felt so bad!"

Jackson kissed her head, glancing around the cafeteria.

"Hey there she is. HEY! FAITH!"

Chris watched as Faith looked up from her food, locking eyes with Jackson. Her look was one of confusion and question.

Jackson beckoned for her to come over with his hand so Faith abandoned her table and approached theirs.

"Yeah?"

"Want to sit with us?" Jackson offered, eyes roving the table, silently asking permission.

The black haired girl looked at him doubtfully.

"You sure?"

"Of course." Jackson replied honestly. He got up and went over to her table, collecting her book and tray before promptly placing it in the empty seat beside Chris.

"We insist."

Chris saw Faith's lips twitch at the corners, making him realize that he had never truly seen her smile.

She slid into her seat and resumed picking at her food. Emmalee was the first to attempt conversation, asking Faith what she was reading.

"Twilight. Stephenie Meyer."

"Dude that book is OLD!" Harry yelled loudly, making several people turn to stare at him.

"It's classic." Faith corrected, "Bella Swan falls in love with Edward Cullen, a vampire. A love story of epic proportions. I don't usually read romance but this book is amazing."

"I saw the movie," Benjamin uttered, "But even then it was pretty old. At least ten years old when I saw it because I was about fourteen."

Faith laughed softly, "The book is the classic. Movies can be remade and redone until they are forgotten and old. Actors grow old and die. Books are forever."

"Why are books better?" Emmalee challenged in a friendly tone. Emmalee preferred books to movies but she wanted to hear what Faith thought.

"Because books capture the mood. You _are _the characters. Movies need to be fast paced to keep others interested."

Harry scoffed, "But movies are awesome. You can _see _explosions and blood and shots. Books are print on paper."

Faith surveyed him quietly; "I am not bound to please thee with my answers."

Harry gave her a dumb look, clearly not understanding.

"Shakespeare." Chris said with a smile, "It basically means that you can have your opinion Harry and you can think what you like of hers because she is not forced to give you an answer you like."

Faith turned her gaze to Chris.

"Precisely."

Mary coughed quietly and stood up.

"Chris, we have to start heading to the dance meeting. We'll be late otherwise."

Chris broke the gaze Faith and he still held, he too standing up and grabbing his books.

"Okay. See you. I'll see you this afternoon Faith."

Faith rose gracefully from the table too, grabbing her book and replacing her chair.

"I have to go as well actually. I need to finish my art project."

"The painting? The gray one?" Chris asked in confusion, wasn't she finished that?

"Yes that one. I need to add more detail. But thank-you for letting me sit with you."

Faith turned on her heel and departed the cafeteria, once again weaving through people, unnoticed and silent.

Chris watched her with a heavy heart. How could someone so nice not be noticed by anyone?

* * *

Joy Hart tossed her platinum blonde hair and smacked her gum loudly.

"Now, I have decided that there will be a theme of 'costume party' everyone can come as whatever they want and it is a totally awesome idea!"

She giggled loudly, producing an eye roll from Chris. Joy had been appointed head of the dance committee, allowing her near-total control of anyone helping.

"Now we need decorations. Crepe Paper, balloons and someone needs to paint banners that are totally hot to hang around the gym. I have booked the best DJ in town for a discount price and he will be on from 6:00 till Midnight. So does anyone know anyone who can paint the banners or do decorations? HALLIWELL!" she barked, jerking Chris out of his 'Joy torture' stupor.

"Yeah?"

"You're head of decorations committee-"

"I am?" Chris asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah. So do you know anyone?"

Her heels tapped impatiently on the floor, clearly telling him that he better answer soon or else Joy would become annoyed.

"Yeah. Actually, I think I do." Chris replied slowly, Faith's image springing to mind.

"Super!" she flashed him a fake smile and moved onto the refreshments to be served.

Chris let out a breath before he realized that while Faith _could _paint banners and help with decorations… it was more a matter of if she _would._

"No."

Chris rolled his eyes, gently touching Faith's arm.

"But I said I knew someone. Please? All you have to do is paint a few banners and help me put up decorations next Friday after school so that they are ready for the dance that night."

Faith continued walking, not looking back at Chris.

"No."

Chris jogged and easily matched her pace once he had caught up. School had let out ten minutes ago and now Chris and Faith were headed to Chris's car to return to the manor to study.

"Why not?"

Faith stopped, turning to face Chris with anger all over her face.

"Because Joy Hart has been the bane of my existence since I got here. Of all the people to notice me, _she _was the one to do it first. She took one look at my clothes, hair, skin, interests and overall look and then automatically decided that making my life hell was a way to put a Botox- looking smile on her face."

Chris looked at her sympathetically. He knew the feeling of being classed as a 'nerd' or 'outcast' by people. Joy had originally found him a source of amusement before she realized that he was related to Wyatt. Then he became an infatuation.

"Okay then, how about you don't do it for her? Do it for me? I know we don't know each other that well but I really need someone to help me with the decorations. Please?"

A few minutes of foot tapping, nail biting, hands twisting and waiting, Faith sighed in defeat.

"Fine."

"Excellent!" Chris smiled happily, "Our next meeting is tomorrow at lunch so we can start work then."

"Hoo-ray." Came the sarcastic reply Chris couldn't help but smile at.

* * *

Chris's green eyes watched Faith closely as she once again nervously bit down on her pen.

"X is –12?" she asked quietly, eyes sliding nervously over her calculations.

"Correct." Chris beamed, lowering the textbook. They had been studying for two hours now and Faith had already managed to successfully complete the work she had missed.

"Well done Faith, we have only had two sessions and you have already improved a lot!" Chris praised.

Faith coughed uncomfortably, allowing her hair to cover her eyes.

"You make it much easier then Mr. Porter does. But it still makes virtually no sense. That one was easy. Some of these look really confusing."

Chris nodded, "Well it does take a fair bit of time to get the hang of. It took me _months _to understand algebra but one day it all just clicked."

Faith nodded vaguely before leaning over the textbook again. Chris mindlessly listened to the muffled voices from inside the kitchen. His parents were having the usual 'Family' dinner tonight. Thankfully most of his cousins had come down with the flu that was going around so he didn't have to deal with endless questioning about Faith from them. They were being baby sat at Magic School so his mom and Aunts could have their traditional dinner.

When he and Faith had entered the manor his Aunt Phoebe had introduced herself, sneaking Chris a glance every so often. His only response had been an eye roll and a strict shake of his head.

A blue light began to form in the room shortly followed by his brother's muscular figure. Chris's eyes widened in alarm, darting to Faith in case she had seen his brother orb into the living room. But the seventeen-year-old still had her eyes firmly placed on a particularly hard problem in the textbook.

"Hey Chris!" Wyatt announced happily. He too noticed Faith and his eyes widened in alarm. The brunette shook his head firmly as Faith looked up and turned her head to see Wyatt.

"Hi."

"Hi." Wyatt replied, relaxing as he realized they hadn't been exposed.

The blonde strode towards the small table, planted himself beside Faith and extended his hand.

"We weren't properly introduced the other day. I'm Wyatt."

Faith accepted the hand, shaking it politely.

"Faith Cullen."

Wyatt flashed her his trademark 'make you melt' smile, casually leaning forward and closing the textbook.

"How about you two take a break? I want to hear about the girl who has been all my brother has talked about all week."

Chris shot his brother a warning look but Wyatt blissfully ignored it. Pale pink stained Faith's cheeks and she coughed nervously.

"Not much to tell really. I'm failing math and your brother is trying to make sure I don't."

"Yeah, Little Chrissy is like that. Old Reliable. You can count on him for anything."

Chris narrowed his eyes and began sending quite vulgar messages through his and Wyatt's telepathic link. Once the profanity had died, Chris began a normal conversation with Faith.

"Don't listen to him Faith. Wyatt is just trying to make me look bad because he couldn't tutor someone in math if his life depended on it."

A small titter of laughter slipped from the girl's lips as she watched the two brothers throw insults back and forth.

She was unaware that as they were casually throwing insults, a small conversion was occurring in their heads.

"_Don't do this Wy!" Chris pleaded through their link._

"_Do what?" Wyatt asked innocently._

"_Try to set me up with Faith. We're friends. And stop flirting with her!"_

_Wyatt laughed through the connection, "Jealous?"_

"_NO!" Chris shot back, "But you shouldn't flirt with her if you don't mean it. It's wrong to play with her like that."_

"_Okay, okay. I'll stop. We should probably get back to a real conversation, too long like this may freak her out."_

"_Art." Chris said suddenly, "She likes Art."_

"_Thanks Chrissy."_

"_Don't call me Chrissy."_

Wyatt broke his argument with Chris and turned to Faith. She seemed shocked at the sudden abruptness but hid it well.

"Chris told me you like art."

"H-he did?" Faith stammered, shooting a glance at Chris from behind her hair.

"Yeah. So you do your own stuff?"

Faith nodded dumbly, a tint of pink still residing on her cheeks. She had never really received so much attention from a boy before. And she was not going to deny that Wyatt Halliwell _was _cute- wait. She wasn't thinking that. He'd never like someone like her.

"Awesome." Wyatt replied, genuinely intrigued. He had never really been that into doing art himself but he had no issues with looking at others.

"Not really. It's not that great. Just a few random things here and there."

"Of course it is awesome!" Chris contradicted her, "Your art project is amazing!"

Faith shrugged and dipped her head.

"Could I see some of your work?" Wyatt queried politely.

Faith opened her mouth to speak when a demon shimmered into the room, fireball aimed at Wyatt's head. The blond ducked as a huge ball of flames just missed the top of his hair. Faith felt strong arms wrap around her small waist, hauling her under the table and out of harm's way.

The Charmed Ones skidded into the room with their husbands' in tow, alerted by the crashes of furniture as fireball after fireball missed Wyatt by inches.

Piper threw up her hands, blasting the demon into millions of pieces.

Faith stood up from underneath the table, realizing it must have been Chris who pulled her under. Piper caught sight of the shocked look on the young woman's face and immediately flicked her fingers to freeze Faith.

Or try to.

"You didn't freeze." Chris stated in wonder.

"No, I didn't." Faith said guiltily, hair falling in her face to cover her eyes once again.

"You're a witch?" Wyatt asked curiously.

"Half-witch. My mom's the one with powers."

Paige's motherly instinct kicked in when she saw a small wound on Faith's shoulder. She raised her hand over the wound and it healed over, leaving the skin unblemished.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Chris asked accusingly. Granted, it was really none of his business but she could maybe have mentioned something.

Faith squirmed under the gaze she was attracting, "You never asked?"

There was a pause and she continued her feeble explanation.

"Well see I don't really _know _if I am a witch. It's in my blood, obviously because I didn't freeze, but I don't think I have any powers… That I'm aware of anyway."

Silence enveloped them again before Piper sighed.

"Would you like to stay for dinner? Maybe we can talk?"

Faith's eyes widened, "Oh no Mrs. Halliwell, I don't want to intrude on your family dinner so I'll just-"

Piper smiled warmly, "First of all, call me Piper. And second, you would not be intruding. I promise."

"Okay," Faith agreed reluctantly with a nod. She squirmed again and Chris watched her for a moment before he realized what was wrong. Every eye in the entire room was focused on her.

"Faith!" he said quickly, "I think you left your sketchbook in my room. Weren't you going to show Wyatt and I some drawings?"

The petite girl caught on and sent him a relieved glance.

"Yeah. I'll go get it."

She disappeared up the stairs faster then anyone Chris had ever seen.

"What was that?" Coop asked with a raised eyebrow.

Chris explained that Faith wasn't used to so much attention from people and he had seen that the constant attention was making her uncomfortable. The older members of the family retreated to the kitchen as though nothing had happened, the last member just leaving when Faith wandered down the stairs.

"Got it. It's one of my older ones. My newer sketchpad is… somewhere. I think."

Wyatt eagerly flipped through the pages, seeing charcoal, pencil and watercolour drawings of various things. He stopped on one page and looked at Faith warily.

"Why have you got picture of demons?"

Chris peered over the top and saw three drawings of nasty looking demons, fangs and talons sharp and menacing.

"OH! Because I was always sitting by myself Principal Hayne suggested I see the school counselor. He told me to draw my 'inner demons' so I figured I would humor him. They're just guesses though. Until today I had never seen an actual demon before." Faith supplied quickly, waving her hand airily as she spoke.

"DINNER'S READY!"

Wyatt returned the book to Faith's hands, disappearing into the kitchen. Chris watched Faith _slowly_ replace the sketchbook before _slowly _zipping up her bag.

"Are you okay?"

Faith hesitated slightly before smiling weakly.

"I guess. I just feel kind of weird. Parents aren't usually my thing and dining with the Charmed Ones seems pretty intimidating."

Chris laughed, patting her shoulder lightly.

Don't worry. The worst you will get asked is if we are dating. Mom and Dad won't pry any further."

A rushing breath slipped from Faith's slightly parted lips.

"That's good."

"Come on, Mom will be waiting."

Chris placed a warm hand gently on her back and led her into the kitchen.

* * *

Hours later, Faith sat alone in her room, only the dull light of her lamp illuminating the darkness. Her sketchbook lay open before her on the 'inner demons' page.

Her green eyes narrowed at the pictures she had spent so many hours on. Every detail of these demons felt so real. One in particular seemed to glower at her from its paper prison, crimson eyes boring into hers. Obsidian claws glinted unmercifully. Faith's entire body tensed up when an unnatural ripple shot through it. When it faded, a loud thud echoed in her silent room. Faith's heart froze in fear before she slowly turned in her chair and found herself face to face with the demon she had drawn.

And it looked mad.

* * *

**A/N- Hello again readers! It is me, Hellcat and I just want to thank you all for the awesome reviews and such. But I just have to ask that if you can take the time to favourite or alert me, care to drop a review? Even a small sentence or a few words is good enough for me because I work hard for this story and it's nice to know what you all think. But moving away from that, Twilight is one of my favourite series! So I hope nobody minded that little appearance. So drop a review and hopefully I will be back with the next chapter soon! Sorry about the cliffhanger too, but who here knows what Faith's power is?**

**By the way, a few reviewers mentioned Twilight and when I re-read the last chapters I realized that Faith does sound like a Cullen from Twilight. She is not a vampire and it is not based on Twilight. Faith's last name originated when I had my nose buried in a Twilight book though. Sorry for the confusion!**

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

Faith's heart leaped into her throat, preventing her from screaming as the huge demon lunged towards her, talons raised in the air. Pain erupted on the left side of her face and the sickly smell of blood filled the air.

Her door slammed open, her parents rushing in to find their only daughter cowering under the fury of a demon. Mr. Cullen watched in terror before throwing himself onto the demon's back, effectively distracting it and allowing Faith to crawl her way across the floor.

Faith watched in horror as her father was thrown into her bookshelf, books sliding in all directions. He got up unscathed but now the demon had re-directed its interest back to Faith and her mother. Mrs. Cullen gestured with her hand, momentarily pausing the demon in its tracks before it resumed the attack.

Words and texts were jumbled in Faith's brain as tried to remember a spell or charm she had read from her mother's magic books when she was little. But all she could recall were simple spells for repair and cleansing. One passage ghosted through her memory.

_**Any witch can summon Whitelighters at any given time. While it is a stronger call if the two have some connection, any witch can find a whitelighter's aid.**_

Chris could help her. Or Wyatt. They were both part whitelighter. At the current time she was not going to be particularly picky.

"CHRIS! WYATT! HELP!" she screamed to the roof of her room, feeling slightly stupid.

The demon reached her halfway through her second call, throwing her like a rag doll across the room, sending her helpless body crashing into the empty bookshelf. Black spots dotted her vision, which began to slowly dim before darkness enveloped her completely.

* * *

Warmth was flooding through her veins, a dull throbbing pain dimming to nothing. Muffled voices filled her brain as it slowly processed each word.

"Projection… power…didn't know… drawings…to life…"

All of the words made no sense in her brain but the voice was familiar. Warm and soothing but with a hint of knowledge and seriousness behind it.

"Leo?" Faith rasped painfully, her throat sandpaper.

"Oh Faith, thank God!"

Warm arms embraced her strongly, forcing Faith to open her eyes to see what was going on. Her mother held her in a tight embrace and Faith peered curiously over her shoulder. She was in the living room on the couch while Chris, Wyatt, The Charmed Ones and their husbands and her parents all sat around her.

"Mom I can't breathe!" Faith choked.

The grip loosened, air flowing into Faith's lungs again.

Faith struggled to sit up, very much aware of the attention she was getting. A blush began to burn on her cheeks but she forced it down. It didn't help that she was currently wearing a pair of blue, loose pyjama bottoms and a white top, both spotted with her blood.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Piper asked worriedly.

Faith screwed up her eyes for a moment and groaned.

"I… think I'm okay. What… How… I mean- I drew a demon?" she stammered confusedly.

Leo looked at her and ploughed out an explanation that really only half-made sense to Faith's still uncooperative brain.

"Some witches are given a power known as projection. It is where they can take an object and, as the name suggests, project it into real life. It can be achieved in many different ways from bringing toys to life," his eyes flicked to Wyatt, " to drawing images and concentrating on them enough that the witch can bring them into reality."

"Oh."

"It's not very complicated. And it is quite easy to get a handle on as well. But I'm guessing that was your first time using your power?"

Faith's eyes widened, "NO! Well, yes, but I didn't MEAN to! I was just looking at the pictures and I thought that that one I drew looked so real and then… it was there."

Leo nodded slowly, his lips pursing.

"Well it is quite common for accidental magic use when someone is just starting to use their powers."

Faith squeaked embarrassingly loud and she covered her mouth.

"C-common? This could happen AGAIN!" she gasped.

Leo raised a hand, "Yes, but now that you know it should be rather easy to be aware of what you are doing. But if anything does happen all you need to do is to rip up the paper you were drawing on and the image will disappear."

"Is that how you got rid of the demon?" she whispered, blush staining her cheeks.

Chris stood up, removing two torn pieces of paper from his jacket.

"Sorry. But I recognized the demon from your picture so I figured you might have the projection power. I ripped up the paper and it faded."

Faith shakily accepted the two pieces of paper, her mind going into overdrive at the news.

Paige watched the young woman's face drain of all colour (not that there was much to begin with).

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

Faith mouthed soundlessly before slumping in her chair.

"I have no idea!" she moaned.

Phoebe coughed, nudging her husband in the side. She made eye movements between Faith and Chris and raised her eyebrow. Coop gave her a 'you-know-I-can't-tell-you-and-even-if-I-could-I-wouldn't' look. Phoebe pouted and crossed her arms.

"Um, Faith? Not to be rude or anything but why did you call for Chris and Wyatt? They said they heard your call and then they called us a few minutes later."

Once again eyes burned into Faith's body.

"Well I remember reading somewhere that any witch can call a whitelighter at any time and I knew that Chris and Wyatt were at least _part _whitelighter **and **they knew how to fight off a demon. So I called them."

Phoebe nodded and the room lapsed into silence. Mr. and Mrs. Cullen stood up, warmly shaking hands with Chris and Wyatt, along with the Charmed Ones and their husbands.

"Thank-you so much. Our Faith could have been seriously injured tonight. And thank-you for helping us with her powers, we always knew they were there."

Faith's cheeks painted with a fiery glow. She stood up and walked over to them, saying her thank-yous. As she moved to back off, her vision dimmed again and the familiar feeling of dizziness rushed over her.

"Woah!" she gasped, staggering unsteadily.

Warm hands settled on her waist, effectively holding her up while Faith clutched at her head.

"Are you alright?" a velvety-smooth voice asked into her ear.

Wyatt's blue eyes bored into hers when she raised her head.

"Yeah. I think my body might be going into delayed shock. I'll be fine. Don't mind me."

Faith gently removed his hands, skillfully avoiding his adorable blue eyes.

Chris watched his brother with narrowed eyes. Wyatt was hitting on Faith. Again.

Everyone said their goodbyes, before the Halliwell clan disappeared in sparkling orbs. Faith looked up at her parents, both of whom were beaming at her for her power. But she could see the worry behind their eyes. Things were now slightly more complicated.

* * *

The clocked clicked to 1:19AM and Wyatt's door opened silently, casting a glow onto Wyatt's desk where he was studying. The blond raised his head curiously to find his baby brother standing beside him.

Knowing what he was about to discuss with him, Wyatt gestured for Chris to sit down beside him.

"What did I tell you about flirting with her Wyatt?" Chris said stonily.

Wyatt rolled his stunning blue eyes, "Chris, I'm not just doing it because I can! Faith actually seems pretty cool; I would like to get to know her. Besides, she is cute when she blushes."

Chris's jaw set into a clench, "Wyatt! Faith doesn't need you going out with her once and then not ever speaking to her again! I told you how she feels about attention from people, and excessive attention from the school's ex-most popular jock since 2002 is not going to help her if you just dump her!"

Wyatt's gaze softened, "Chris, I would never do that to her. I'm just saying that she is a nice girl with a brain that she uses. Not some airhead 'Joy-ette' who is forever giggling like a maniac after every word."

Chris seemed to calm down considerably at these words but Wyatt still had more to say.

"Besides, she isn't really my type and she seems more into you anyway."

Wyatt narrowly dodged Chris's open-palmed whack to the back of his head.

"Faith and I aren't dating. I'm tutoring her. That's all."

Wyatt sighed, "Chris, it is time you moved on from Clara."

Clara Stevens had been Chris's longest relationship, which had ended last year when she had moved away for her father's new business. She and Chris had been dating since they were fifteen and five months before Clara left the two had slept together. Something only Wyatt, Chris and Clara knew about. Wyatt had found out when Chris came home the next morning after a date and told his mother that he had stayed the night at Wyatt's apartment. When Wyatt found out he had questioned his brother for hours about hoew safe it was and if he was sure Clara was okay with what had happened.

"Wyatt I HAVE moved on from Clara! But I haven't known Faith that long!"

Wyatt nodded reluctantly, "Okay, fair point. But how about you get to know her? Maybe you will see something in her you didn't see before."

Chris nodded slowly, raising from the chair and leaving the room.

Maybe his brother was right. Maybe there was more to Faith then what he thought.

* * *

Once again, the school day dawned a dark and stormy gray. Joy was already issuing orders to anyone who would listen at lunch break, informing each of them of what they had to do. When her eyes landed on Faith, calmly sitting beside Chris, she smirked.

"Well, well, well. Faith it is good to see you out of the art room! You should really get out more though, your skin is getting a little pale."

She giggled and flounced away, swaying her hips in a lucrative manner. Tears pricked at the corners of Faith's eyes but she ignored the jibe.

Chris led her to the gymnasium where the dance would be help and showed her how much space they had to work with and what sort of decorations Joy wanted.

The art room was empty once again when Chris entered after Faith, following her lead as she grabbed paintbrushes, paint and a large roll of paper.

"We can start now. We both have spares so anything we get done now will be pretty good."

She began to busy herself with the paint, carefully drawing the outline of what she was going to do before filling in the white spaces with paint. Chris followed her lead, though his own drawings nowhere near matched the standard of hers.

It occurred to Chris that when she was painting, Faith was entirely absorbed in her work. He paused in his (rather pathetic attempt) at drawing and watched as she precisely slid her paintbrush around the outline of the character she was drawing before casually dipping her paint into a colour two shades darker and doing it again. Her hair fell into her eyes, causing Faith to brush it away and continue her work as though she was uninterrupted.

A smile crept across Chris's face as he watched her. She looked so peaceful compared to the usually pale and quiet girl he was used to seeing.

"Chris? Chris? CHRIS!"

Chris jerked back into reality to find Faith with one hand on her hip and a paintbrush in the air.

"Why were you staring at me?" she accused, eyes narrowing dangerously in a way Chris had never seen before.

"Nothing, nothing. You just looked really into it that's all. Very focused."

Faith's eyes moved away from him and back to her work. They had already managed to finish eight of the twelve posters and one of two banners.

"So," Chris began, dipping his brush into the forest green and trying to strike up a conversation, "are you going to the dance?"

"Nope." Was the clipped reply he received.

"Why not?"

"Because I haven't been to a school dance since I got here. Why break my tradition now?"

Chris laughed softly, "Want to go with me then?"

Faith nearly dropped her brush onto the page, quickly catching herself, "W-what?"

"Just as friends!" Chris quickly amended, "I mean, Emmalee and Mary are going with Ben and Jackson and Harry and Carolyn are going so why don't you and I go? We can torment Joy and whichever poor soul she dragged to the dance with her by adding salt to the punch when she isn't looking."

Faith looked up at him with dull green eyes, "Okay. I guess."

Chris was momentarily taken aback at her acceptance but masked his surprise well.

"Okay then. But- um- could you pick me up? Wyatt and I went demon hunting last week and mom found out so besides driving to and from school I am not allowed to use my car. Mom is only letting me go to the dance because I helped organize it."

Faith nodded slowly, her eyes once again trained on her work when the bell rang to change periods. Faith had another spare but Chris had to make his way to Advanced Physics.

"So, I will see you in English."

Faith shook her head and ran her brushes under the tap.

"Sorry. I'm leaving school now. Family stuff."

Chris sensed a lie underneath her words but knew it was too early in their friendship to pry unless she wanted to tell him.

"Oh. Okay. Well then I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Maybe." She mumbled vaguely, watching as the red paint washed down the sink in crimson streams.

Chris exited the art room with one question weighing heavy on his mind. Now he was sure there was something different about Faith. Something lying beneath the surface.

But he didn't know if it was good or evil. Faith was a nice girl, but she had that vibe about her that not all was as it seemed. Some of the looks she gave, the harsh and accusing stares definitely were a far cry from her shy and reclusive self.

But for now Faith was his friend. And he wouldn't judge her without a fair trial. And a trial never worked without evidence.

* * *

Faith stood in front of the bathroom mirror that night, examining her small frame. The new mark on her arm throbbed uncomfortably from where the sharp point had pierced the soft skin, drawing copious amounts of blood. The area around it was tinged with greens and purples that faded to yellow around the edge.

Today had been very painful. Multiple wounds covering her body from places where sharp points had been pushed repeatedly through her skin. Older marks were finally beginning to fade but Faith knew that by next week the new scars would be the old ones and new purple marks would decorate her skin.

Her slender fingers traced three long, thin scars across her stomach and she was thankful that they blended in against her pallid skin.

The mark on her arm seared when she moved but she knew better then to ask Wyatt or Paige to heal it. They would ask questions she couldn't answer. Questions that if she _didn't _answer would lead to suspicion. Which would eventually lead to an answer.

They couldn't find out. Nobody was going to find out. She didn't ask to be born like this. She would have proffered to be like everyone else. But she wasn't.

Faith sighed heavily and stepped into the shower, allowing the lukewarm water to wash away all of her pain.

A smile graced her features as she thought of what was happening next week. She was going to the dance. With Chris. Granted, it was just as friends, but Chris Halliwell had asked her to the dance. Happiness bubbled to her lips and she giggled in the warm spray before it hit her that she had to inform her parents of her 'date' with Chris.

That was going to go down well.

* * *

The Book Of Shadows stood pride of place in the non-dusty non-dingy attic of the Halliwell manor. Chris stood before it, paging through the old tome at a slow speed, trying to find the demonic entity his father had described to him as attacking men all over the city.

"Phoenix, Angels, Grimlocks, Genies, where is it?"

The description he had been given by his father was… vague… to say the least.

He stared at the high roof of the attic, "I could use some help here!"

An invisible wind toyed first with his hair before flipping the pages in the Book. It landed on a page with a demon fitting the description Chris had been given.

"Thank-you!" he called with a smile, "Halex demons. Most common as females, these demons kill and feed on mainly males as their diet. Powers include black tar-like substance from fingers; energy balls and sharp, dagger-like fingernails. Halex demons are also able to transform into humans, but not for overly extended periods of time, as they are highly susceptible to human disease. These demons are widely recognizable by their pale skin, gray eyes and tribal markings. The can be vanquished using a potion listed on the opposite page."

Chris huffed and began to prepare the potion for his mom and aunts to vanquish the demon. Ever since his father had been re-instated as an Elder when Chris was fifteen, his family had gotten back into the habit of weekly demon hunts due to the Elder's wide knowledge of what was going on.

As the final ingredient combined into the potion, Chris fetched a vial and poured a generous amount of liquid into it.

Pages ruffled behind him, alerting Chris that someone was trying to draw his attention to the Book. Chris wandered over, curious to see what it was they were trying to tell him. On the yellowing paper was a title printed in bold red ink.

"To see what can't be seen." He mused.

A spell to see what was invisible to the eye.

"This spell can be used to detect anything from a spell to a **lie**."

The last word jumped out at him but Chris closed the Book with a snap.

"I trust her!" he yelled at the ceiling again.

The page flipped back to its position and Chris groaned. But he memorized the spell in case he ever needed it.

But he wouldn't use it on Faith unless he was absolutely sure. For all he knew she was just a girl with a secret that she was embarrassed about. Not a demon trying to kill him. Besides, she was a witch and if she wanted to kill him, wouldn't she have _already _tried?

His mother called his name from downstairs, prompting Chris to close the Book and hurry down with the vanquishing potion in hand.

* * *

"Faith Isabella Cullen I will _not _let you date this boy!" John Cullen yelled as he bashed his fist on the wooden table.

"It's not a date daddy! We're going as friends! That's it! Besides, you _like _Chris remember? He was one of the ones who saved my life last night?" Faith retaliated, her fork lying abandoned beside her broccoli.

"I know but he is an seventeen year old boy!"

"And I am an seventeen year old girl!" she yelled back, not understanding that it wasn't that Chris was seventeen but the fact that seventeen year old boys were… seventeen year old boys.

"EXACTLY!"

Tanya Cullen sighed, deciding it was finally time to mediate the fight.

"Okay. Faith, you can go to the dance with Chris," Tanya's husband opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off, "on the grounds that you are home by twelve thirty and you don't do anything stupid. Are we clear?"

"Yes mom." Faith smiled happily, returning to her broccoli.

Butterflies flew in her stomach and, for the first time in a long time, Faith felt like very other girl when she began to worry about what to wear to the costume party.

Maybe she was the same in some ways… but she was different from them in a much bigger way.

* * *

**A/N- Hello again! I just want to say thank-you ALL for the lovely reviews and congratulations to the people who correctly guessed her power. If it seems familiar the episode 'Witches In Tights' (Season 5) features a young boy with that power. And now I know some of you are getting suspicious of Faith and I can honestly say that not all is what it seems with her. But I won't say any more then that so you will just have to wait! Please drop a review on your way out because that is what keeps me going! **


	5. Chapter 5

Sketchbooks lay scattered across Faith Cullen's usually pristine floor. Magical texts she had borrowed were spread across her homework desk and the seventeen year old was peacefully asleep on it as well, a textbook on math pillowing her head. The bed was unmade, books also covering it with the only exception being where Faith slept every night.

Tanya Cullen rapped on her daughter's door for the third time that morning, motherly worry beginning to set in.

"Faith? Are you up?"

When no reply was forthcoming, motherly instincts kicked in and she pushed the door open, immediately dreading the absolute worst. To her utmost relief Faith was only asleep at her desk, clearly having spent a great quantity of last night awake and reading textbooks about her new power.

It had been a week since the Cullen family had been informed of their daughter's power. And since that night, Faith had been trying to learn more. Young Christopher had leant her a few books on projection, prompting Faith to have her nose forever buried between the pages of them.

"Faith, Faith honey? You're going to be late for school." Tanya whispered, gently shaking her daughter into consciousnesses.

"I'm awake." She mumbled, turning her head to shield her eyes from the light.

When she moved, Mrs. Cullen caught sight of a beautiful red rose beside her daughter's head… and an identical picture on the sketchbook perched precariously on the edge of the desk.

Glee bubbled in her body, "You did it!"

Faith jerked at the loud noise and looked around wildly, "Did what?" she yawned, stretching her arms above her head.

"You projected the rose!"

Faith had been trying to successfully project a picture at her own will for the past week.

"Yeah, I did. But I didn't want to wake you because it was really late. Wait what time is it?" Faith asked suddenly, jerking into reality.

Mrs. Cullen glanced at her watch, "Quarter to eight dear."

Faith squeaked, flying out of her chair and gathering her clothes.

"I am supposed to meet Chris at eight! I have to hurry!"

Tanya Cullen smiled, exiting the room to allow her daughter to change. She was happy that Faith and Chris were becoming closer as the days went by. She and her husband had both noticed a change in Faith. She was slightly more confident in her own skin, willing to go out with them to the shopping center instead of cooping herself up in her room. Chris was having a great impact on her, drawing the reclusive girl out of Faith.

As John had already left for work, Tanya had to get herself ready to leave. She was already going to be late as it was.

Faith dashed into the kitchen, snagging an apple between her fingertips and brushing a kiss to her mother's cheek.

"BYE MOM! CHRIS AND I ARE STUDYING THIS AFTERNOON SO I'LL BE LATE!"

"GOODBYE SWEETIE! HAVE A NICE DAY!" Mrs. Cullen replied with a smile as she watched her daughter's car reverse out of the driveway.

* * *

Faith's hurried footsteps echoed through the near-empty halls at eight-fifteen AM. She skidded into the art room and dropped her bag beside Chris's.

"I'm not late!" she breathed heavily.

Chris looked up and flashed his familiar smile and he took in Faith's appearance. Long black jeans with holes in the knees, an oversize white shirt with a black tribal pattern on the front and back clothed her small frame while her footwear of choice was a pair of paint spattered sneakers. A homemade beaded bracelet adorned her wrist and her black hair was pulled into a messy bun.

"Of course not. I'm entirely too early." Chris replied.

"Yes you are." Faith agreed with a giggle, sitting on the stool beside Chris and immediately beginning to help Chris add the final touches to the banner. Joy had decided at the last minute yesterday that she wanted _three _banners, not _two. _

"Traffic?" Chris guessed.

"Overslept. I was reading last night about my power and…"

She produced a breathtaking red rose from her bag with a flourish.

"Viola! A successfully projected flower at will!" she finished with a twitch of her lips.

Chris smiled and congratulated her on the success. Faith blushed and offered him the rose. Chris's accepted the flower, mindful of the thorns, and placed it on top of his bag before giving Faith another smile.

The two worked in silence for a solid fifteen more minutes before the art teacher wandered through the door. Mr. Munroe was a very laid-back teacher and had no issues with Faith and Chris being in the art room alone. Faith was one of his best students and he had allowed her total access to all of his personal art supplies.

"Good morning Faith, Chris."

"Morning Mr. Munroe."

"Sorry to interrupt your hard work kids, but we have some Art College students coming in this morning for a talk with the class so you need to pack up early."

Faith's eyes shone, "Really? They're talking to us today?"

Mr. Munroe nodded, "They most certainly are. I met them yesterday and they are actually very eager to meet you Faith. I showed them your first project for art and they were quite impressed. Top of the class again by the way."

The blush on Faith's cheeks deepened adorably and Chris couldn't help but smile as he washed the paint off his brushes.

Faith joined him, cheeks still painted with a cotton-candy hue, as she rinsed her brush under the stream of water.

"Congratulations again. For being top of the class." Chris praised, watching with amusement as the pink blush deepened slightly.

"Thank-you."

"You're welcome."

Faith gave Chris a sneaky look out of the corner of her eye but quickly looked away when he glanced in her direction.

Chris inwardly smiled when he saw Faith glance away for the second time. She was a very interesting person to talk to. And he couldn't wait until the dance this Friday. He wanted to get to know her more.

* * *

"So," Chris began as they walked out of the art room five minutes later, "what classes do you have today?"

Faith fell into step beside him and wracked her brain, "Uh. Biology, Art, Ancient History, English and Math. I have a quiz in math as well."

Chris started, "This early? Math exams are usually one of the last things Mr. Porter sets."

"It's just a quiz, it isn't for our report. He just wants to see how we are all going. I am going to fail!" she moaned in distress.

Chris patted her back reassuringly, "No you won't. You have made excellent progress in algebra and if you want I will help you with some last minute study at lunch. How does that sound?"

"You are an angel!" Faith praised happily.

Three sets of fast footsteps echoed in the hall before Harry, Ben and Jackson appeared, a football flying between them.

"Yo! Chris!" Harry called in greeting.

Chris waved to the three and Faith shrunk back. While she had gotten to know the three boys and their girlfriends slightly better over the past week, she still felt a little out of place when she was with them.

"Yo! Charity!" Harry called upon seeing her.

"**FAITH**." Chris corrected with a smile, catching the football Jackson had aimed at his head.

Faith smiled silently, tapping Chris on the arm to gain his attention and telling him she was headed to her locker and she would see him at lunch.

Chris said goodbye to her before watching her retreating form until she turned a corner at the end of the hall. Harry gave him a weird look and then turned it into a wicked grin.

"So, Chris, you and her have been getting _friendly_?"

Harry ducked the smack to the head but failed to doge the harmless fist to the gut.

"Cute Harry. Real cute. But no, we aren't dating but we are _friends._" He stressed the last word, casting his gaze to the other two who were wearing identical smug grins.

Jackson tossed the football to Ben, "Mary and I were _friends _and look at us now."

Chris merely rolled his eyes and bit back a sarcastic remark.

Strong perfume invaded his senses and a perfectly manicured nail touched his shoulder. Joy twirled her platinum hair around her left pinkie, batted her overly-mascara- coated eyelashes at him and purred.

"So Chris, are you going to the dance with anyone?"

Her over-glossed lips sunk into a pout Chris guessed was supposed to be sexy, but only succeeded in making her look like a fish.

"Yes actually I am." He replied shortly, prying out of her grasp.

Joy's eyes widened and she cocked a hip. The soft tone and attempted sexiness of her voice returned to the usual high-pitched squeak and she wrinkled her nose.

"WHO?" she demanded.

"My sentiments exactly." Benjamin mumbled, Jackson and Harry nodding in agreement. Chris was yet to tell them whom he had asked to the dance. The three had an idea but were all too afraid to voice it. Chris, though he didn't look it, could be quite intimidating at times.

"None of your business." Chris stated bluntly as the bell sounded loudly.

Joy angrily stomped her foot and huffed.

"Fine. I didn't want to go with you anyway."

She flounced away, her hair bouncing and hips swishing.

Miss. Letterman was ushering students into their homerooms, not giving the three boys time to interrogate Chris about his date until lunch.

When Chris stepped through the doors of his homeroom he couldn't keep his mind of the rose in his bag and the girl who he had received it from.

* * *

Faith's first classes dragged on and on, her eyes drooping as she listened to her science teacher discuss something about something to do with something. Single words registered in her mind but no complete sentences formed. It didn't matter. This was the one class she had where not only was she invisible to the students, but she was invisible to the teacher.

A poke on her shoulder startled her, her sudden movement knocking her pen onto the ground. As she bent to pick it up the boy next to her beat her to the punch. He lifted it onto her desk and gave her a smile.

"Um, do you have a spare pen? Mine's out of ink."

Faith soundlessly handed him her pen and he gave her an odd look before seeing that her notebook was free of notes.

"Thanks uh… Amy?" he guessed.

"Faith. No problem." She returned, used to being called the wrong name by people. She didn't know them so it was fair that they didn't know her.

"Right, Faith. Sorry." He apologized, clearly not really meaning it.

That was the only interaction she had with anyone that morning besides art when Mr. Munroe had introduced her to the Art students. They had complimented her on her work and asked her if she planned to continue her artwork into College. Faith had shrugged modestly and replied that she hadn't quite thought about it yet.

Not a total lie. She wasn't going to graduate so there really was no point in thinking about it. She wasn't going to college ether. People like her didn't get to go to College.

When lunch finally rolled around Faith was exhausted and ready to fall over. Maybe she should have actually slept last night.

With her nose buried in her math textbook for some pre-test cramming, she failed to noticed head jock Jake Winston look up at her with an evil grin.

"Hey Cullen! HEADS UP!"

Faith glanced up in time to see a large crimson apple hurtling towards her head. She raised her book in front of her face but heard no impacting thud. When she peeked bravely over the top of the book she found the fruit held firmly in the hand of none other then the blond god himself, Wyatt Halliwell.

"Hey Winston! HEAD'S UP!" he mocked, tossing the fruit in his direction. Winston ducked the healthy missile but didn't return any mocking gesture or threat, as he would have done if it were anyone but Wyatt.

Faith stared at Wyatt in confusion, "What are you doing here?"

Wyatt smiled and Faith resisted the urge to melt into a content pile of goo.

"Not happy to see me?" he teased in a friendly voice, mindful of his words with Chris.

Faith blinked, "Of course I'm happy to see you, I mean, you saved me from a potential apple concussion or severe damage to my book!"

Wyatt glanced at the novel between her hands and smiled.

"Charles Dickens?"

"Classic!" Faith protested with a smile.

"Boring." Wyatt argued.

"Whatever. You still didn't answer my question."

Wyatt steered Faith out of the cafeteria and into the hall, "Which one would that be?"

"The one where I asked you why you were here. The _only _question I asked you."

Wyatt laughed and Faith's insides twisted into knots, "Principal Hayne wanted to see me about a speech he wants me to make to some of the year twelves about what to do after you leave school."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Personally I don't want to do it but Mom has a way of making me do things."

Faith laughed happily and walked with Wyatt down the hall. The two rounded a corner just in time to see Ben press a small kiss onto Emmalee's lips in what he thought was an empty hall.

Wyatt smirked and gave Faith a look before clearing his throat loudly.

"What do you think you're doing?" he growled menacingly.

Ben pulled back in shock.

"Sorry Mr.… Wyatt? Dude!"

Ben laughed and Emmalee giggled at Wyatt while Faith stood silently beside them. Emmalee turned her gaze to the quiet girl and then back to Wyatt, raising an eyebrow at the blond man, which he returned with a cheeky smile.

"Faith and I were just discussing why I was here. I have to give a speech apparently."

Emmalee raised the other eyebrow and then sighed.

"Whatever you say Wyatt. Hey, want to join us for lunch? I'm sure the lunch ladies will be thrilled to have their favourite student back in the cafeteria!" she teased.

Wyatt began to retaliate, leaving Faith to remain motionless and out of the conversation. Weakness hit her like a ton of bricks but she tried in vain to stay standing. Her vision wavered and her eyelids drooped, a yawn cracking her jaw. All of this went unnoticed until Wyatt turned back to her.

"Hey, are you okay? You're shivering."

Faith looked down and saw her slender hands shaking slightly.

"Guess I am." She remarked in wonder, "But I don't feel cold. Actually I feel a little warm. Is it hot in here?"

Emmalee placed a hand on her forehead. "You're burning up!"

Ben touched his hand to her head and nodded, "Em's right. You must have caught the cold or something from nearly every other person in the school; it's going around still. My little sister has had it on and off for the past three weeks."

"Me too, " Faith replied, sneezing suddenly before raising a hand to her forehead.

The three in front of her watched as Faith's face paled considerably, making the deep circles under her eyes stand out ominously and her legs gave out beneath her.

* * *

Chris rounded the corner with his math book in hand, ready to eat and help Faith study. He turned the corner just in time to see Faith pitch forward. Wyatt caught her easily and lifted her up into a bridal position while Emmalee and Ben grabbed her fallen books.

Chris hurtled down the hallway, not caring why his brother was here and not caring that Mary and Jackson were close behind him, demanding to know what had happened.

Wyatt carried her to the nurse's office and Mrs. Jacobs looked Faith over. Tutting she shook her head, "Poor dear. Exhaustion. Judging by her temperature she has the flu and perhaps lack of sleep and food."

Chris's rapidly beating heart slowed slightly but still kept a faster pace then usual. One thought kept running through his mind at high speed.

'_**Halex demons are also able to transform into humans, but not for overly extended periods of time, as they are highly susceptible to human disease'**_

Chris pushed the thought out of his head. Sure, admittedly, Faith had a few similarities to the Halex demons in the Book of Shadows. But he was probably being paranoid and he had promised himself not to try anything without concrete evidence that Faith was evil. And silly, paranoia suspicions were not concrete.

Wyatt's face was serious when he asked Mrs. Jacobs what they could do.

"Nothing you can do my dears," she stated kindly, "I'll call her mother and ask her to take her home and let young Miss Cullen have some rest."

"No," a voice groaned from the bed, "she is at work. I'm fine. Besides I can drive myself home if I really have to go."

All eyes turned to Faith, who was struggling to sit up in the sick bay bed. Mrs. Jacobs gently pushed her back down and Faith groaned again, a wave of nausea rushing over her.

"Sorry dear but I can't let you drive like this. If your mother is busy how about we call your father?"

The young girl wearily shook her head, "He's at work and he can't leave. I'm perfectly fine. I'll go to class."

This time it was Wyatt who placed a firm hand on her shoulder and pushed her gently back onto the sick bay bed.

"Faith if your parents can't pick you up how about I drop you home?"

"What?" Faith said suddenly, eyes opening in shock.

"Yeah, and then maybe someone can pick up your car later. But you can't stay at school, you look unwell."

Chris clenched his jaw at the thought of Wyatt and Faith alone in a car before he realized that Wyatt wasn't flirting, he was genuinely worried about her.

Mrs. Jacobs smiled, "Well dear, could Mr. Halliwell drop you home? Can someone pick up your car later?"

Faith nodded slowly, "Can I call my dad? He will be able to pick up my car after work I guess."

Mrs. Jacobs handed her the phone and Faith dialed the number her parents had made her memorize on her first day of grade one. Seven pairs of eyes watched her intently as Faith waited patiently for her father to pick up his phone.

"Hi daddy… I passed out… no, I'm fine really… I'm getting a ride home with Wyatt…"

There was an eye roll from Faith and a sigh, "Chris's older brother… yes… no…DADDY! Can you please pick up my car after school? I'll leave my key for you at the font desk. Thank-you daddy."

She disconnected the call and returned the phone to Mrs. Jacobs as Kimberly Mason stumbled into the sick bay, face tinged green and sheen of sweat across her face.

"Bathroom dear!" Mrs. Jacobs called, hurrying over to help her.

Chris's friends bid Faith goodbye and exited the sterile room. Wyatt smiled down at Faith, prompting her to look anywhere but his handsome face.

Chris filled a cup of water and handed it to her, "Drink this it will make you feel better."

Faith accepted the cup, taking a small sip before gulping down the water, suddenly aware of how thirsty she was. Three cups of water later, Faith looked remarkably better than before.

Mrs. Jacobs bustled in with a small white slip in her hand, "Take this to the office and you can be on your way home dear. Thank-you Wyatt for taking her home."

The muscular blond flashed a crooked smile at the teacher and Chris rolled his eyes. He helped Faith up and small spots blurred her vision.

"Stood up too fast." Faith breathed as Wyatt and Chris both moved to catch her if she fell.

"Okay let's get you to the office." Chris suggested firmly, casting a sideways glance at his older brother.

* * *

Ten minutes later Faith was sitting comfortably in the passenger seat of Wyatt Halliwell's car. The air conditioner was gently blowing her unruly hair into her face and she brushed it away feebly. Somewhere between the sickbay and office, drowsiness had returned and she felt as if she was going to fall asleep at any second. She was currently trying to push it away until she was at home in her bed.

Wyatt asked her address and Faith replied with a street not too far away. The radio was the only source of noise as they drove through the streets of San Francisco.

Wyatt tapped the steering wheel and cast his gaze momentarily to Faith, "So, have you always lived in San Francisco?" he asked, casually trying to strike up a conversation with her.

Faith looked at him for a moment, an unreadable expression across her delicate features, "No. I was born in Boston. We moved here when I was six. Mom wanted a fresh start after…" Faith stopped abruptly, her gaze flicking to her opened palms, "…after she got tired of Boston scenery. She wanted some new sights to see and she had always loved pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge."

Her hesitation had only been a small pause in her words, but Wyatt caught onto it. He didn't pry, knowing that she had obviously lied for a reason and he had been raised to know when he was to keep out of other people's business.

"I went to Boston once. Orbed there for a concert when I was sixteen. Mom nearly had my head for that. Ahh, good times." He laughed softly and Faith couldn't help but giggle as well.

"Who did you see?"

"Cause and Effect. It's Chris and my favourite band. I would have taken him but I didn't see mom taking the news that her _sixteen_ year old son had taken her _fourteen_ year old son to Boston until three in the morning without her consent well."

Faith laughed, "Good band. I'm a Cause and Effect fan; do you like Doubting Hope? Or Striving for Survival?"

Wyatt turned left, smoothly continuing the conversation, "Chris does. I think they are okay but they're not my favourites."

Silence enveloped the car again and Wyatt searched his brain for a topic, "You going to the dance?"

"Yes actually I am." Faith said slowly, eyes filled with confusion. Hadn't Chris told him yet?

"With anyone?" Wyatt pried unashamedly this time, curious to know if someone had asked the young woman or if she had decided to go alone. She didn't seem like the dance type.

"Yes. Chris actually. He asked me last week." She explained.

Wyatt momentarily forgot he was driving and turned his entire head to Faith.

"What? He didn't tell me he asked you!"

"Just as friends!" Faith explained when Wyatt seemed to recall the small detail that he was driving.

"Huh. Well he failed to mention anything to me. Must be worried I would ask him how he managed to get a beautiful young lady to say yes to someone like him." Wyatt assumed with a wolfish grin.

Faith ducked her head, twisting her fingers absently.

"My house is the third on the left," she mumbled, just loud enough for Wyatt to hear, changing the subject quickly.

Wyatt pulled into the driveway and Faith collected her bag from the back seat.

"Thanks Wyatt. Can you tell Chris that I'm sorry we couldn't study this afternoon?"

"Not a problem Faith."

Faith removed her house key and unlocked the front door; aware that Wyatt was still waiting in the driveway to make sure she went inside.

When Wyatt saw Faith push the door open and wave, he pulled out of the driveway and headed for the manor.

The mattress in Faith's room seemed to beckon the weary girl closer. Without changing clothes, Faith dropped, fully dressed, onto the unmade bed and closed her eyes. Sleep enveloped her almost immediately, relaxation filling every pore of her body.

* * *

Harsh light poured through Faith's open window, blinding her as she opened her bleary eyes. A bitter taste in her dry throat made Faith grimace and grope around blindly for her glass of water always by her bedside table. She came in contact with the cool glass and drank the water eagerly, ignoring the slightly odd taste from sitting by her bedside all night.

The concept of getting up and going to school weighed on Faith's mind and she debated the pros and cons before she realized that a small piece of paper was by her glass of water. Her mother's handwriting filled up half of the page and her father's filled the rest.

_Faith,_

_You were still asleep when we came home and we didn't want to wake you. Your temperature is still slightly high so I left the number for Dr. Raymond by the phone. There is aspirin beside your alarm clock and if you need anything don't be afraid to call our work numbers._

Faith's brow furrowed in confusion. Work numbers? If they came home why would they have gone back to work unless…

She turned to her alarm clock and saw that it was four in the afternoon. It was Tuesday afternoon. She had slept for over twenty-four hours! Faith vaguely remembered getting up late night for water and she half remembered her mother waking her up earlier today before she had rolled over and gone back to sleep, trying to ignore the pounding in her head.

With a shake of her head (and instant regret at the movement that caused her vision to spin) Faith returned to the letter.

_I called the school and told them you will be out sick today so if you wake up before school is out don't get any funny ideas. Take care of yourself._

_Love Mom._

**Faith,**

**That boy called here for you last night and wanted to know if you were okay. I told him you were asleep and that you would call him back when you woke up. I wrote down his number on the notepad by the phone. I collected your car yesterday and the keys are on your desk.**

**Love Dad**

Faith lowered the note and smiled. Chris (at least she thought 'that boy' was Chris) had called here to make sure she was okay. Staggering out of bed and into a hot shower, Faith stood under the spray and worked out the kinks in her muscles. A short blast of cold water woke her up completely before she took aspirin to soothe the headache she had. Her stomach growled menacingly at her so Faith made a small sandwich and ate it, accompanied by several glasses of water.

The phone rang and Faith lifted it out of the cradle.

"Hello?" she said politely.

"Hey, it's Chris."

A grin formed on Faith's face, "Hello Chris. How are you?"

Chris laughed and fell back onto his bed, discarding his bag on the floor, "I'm good. How are you? Feeling any better?"

"Much. How did you get my number?"

"Phonebook. Twenty-seven Cullen families in San Francisco but Wyatt knew your address so it was relatively easy to find."

Faith laughed and Chris smiled, even though he knew Faith couldn't see, "Ah. Well I wonder if I should be more worried about the fact that you know my number or you know where I live."

"Oh be afraid. Be very afraid." Chris snarled playfully.

Laughter was heard on the other end as well as a small beep in the background.

"What was that?" Chris asked.

"Call waiting. It's probably mom wanting to see if I'm okay."

The beep sounded again and Chris sighed, "Well I was just calling to see if you were okay. Are you coming to school tomorrow?"

"Definitely."

"Okay, I'll see you then. Bye Faith."

"Goodbye Chris."

The call disconnected and Chris lay back with a smile, his hands folded behind his head. Today Faith had been a topic of discussion at lunch between the friends. Emmalee and Mary were worried that Faith might not be eating enough food and vowed to make sure she ate the next time she came to lunch whereas Jackson and Ben both agreed that she looked pretty sick and had probably gotten the flu. But Chris still had a feeling in his gut that told him something was different about Faith. And his mother had always told him to go with his gut instinct.

But he didn't want to lose Faith's trust or friendship. With a groan he rolled over and sat up, heading to his desk to begin his mountain load of homework. A slightly wilted rose lay beside his pencils, still emitting a beautiful fragrance. His mom had seen the rose the day before but said nothing. Wyatt on the other hand had grinned like maniac but kept his mouth shut.

With a pen in hand, Chris began his essay for English with only one thing truly on his mind.

Faith Cullen.

Foe, Friend… or something more?

* * *

**A/N- Thank you all so much for the faves, reviews, alerts and hits! Now I know this chapter wasn't really much but I needed to flesh out the relationship Faith has with the people around her and how she is getting on in her friendship with Chris. The next chapter is the dance so it will have a little more action in it. But anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and story and hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. Care to leave a review on your way out? And the band names are completely made up (I hope)**


	6. Chapter 6

Wednesday and Thursday blurred by, Friday dawning in a sunny haze. The last period of the day dragged on and on as Faith took her make-up quiz.

Chris waited patiently outside after homeroom while he watched Faith pace back and forth in front of Mr. Porter's desk. She chewed nervously on her nails while she waited. Even though this mark did nothing for her grade, she was desperate to do well.

Mr. Porter finished marking and wrote her grade in bold red ink at the top of the page. He returned it to Faith's trembling hand with a smile.

"Well done Faith."

"B PLUS!" she yelled joyfully, running her eyes over the paper and searching her mistakes.

"A few simple errors that others made also but it is a great improvement. I am proud of you"

Faith nodded and thanked him before darting out of the room and waving the paper in Chris's face.

"Thank-you so much Chris!"

"You're welcome. Now, are we still going to study Sunday at my place?"

Faith nodded, excitement still evident on her features.

"Okay then. Let's go. Joy is already in a panic because apparently the food for tonight hasn't arrived like it was meant to. It is apparently quite entertaining."

Faith giggled, "Okay. So, I am picking you up at six right?"

"Right. Now I have to find a way out of wearing my ridiculous costume."

"If it is ridiculous why did you choose it?"

"I didn't," Chris assured her, "I lost a bet with Wyatt and now I have to go as-"

"HALLIWELL! START PUTTING UP THOSE BANNERS AND THE POSTERS AND MAKE SURE YOU DO IT RIGHT! THE STREAMERS NEED TO BE HUNG IN _**LOOPS.**_ NOT STRAIGHT LINES!"

Joy barked at him, slamming into Faith as she passed them.

Faith gritted her teeth but pushed her anger down. Nothing was going to spoil her attitude today.

An hour later the gym was looking festive and welcoming, back-up music was piled in a corner where the DJ was going to set up and Joy was close to tearing out her platinum blonde hair with her perfectly manicured nails.

Faith securely tied the last banner before she carefully descended the ladder Chris was holding beneath her.

"What's with her?"

"Refreshments showed up. Three hundred packets of chips and two bottles of mineral water." Chris laughed, listening to Joy verbally abuse the man on the other end of her cell phone.

"Ouch. Poor Joy." She paused and tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Actually, no. She deserves it. Never mind."

Joy sauntered past them, purposefully pushing past Faith's shoulder for the second time. The black-haired girl shrugged it off before stepping up onto the ladder and hanging the remainder of the streamers the way Joy had directed.

"OKAY PEOPLE PACK IT UP!" Justin Sweeny yelled to the crowd, "Go home. Make yourselves look amazing and get back here for a PARTY!"

Some people cheered loudly while others merely shook their heads. Faith stepped off the ladder and picked up her bag from the floor. Chris followed her out into the student parking lot and the two chatted happily about Faith's grade on her quiz.

"I am proud." Faith declared as she unlocked her car. Chris unlocked his 'baby', as he referred to her, and turned to Faith.

"See you at six Faith."

"If I remember." She teased with a twitch of her lips, sliding into the driver's seat.

"Hey," Chris asked suddenly, "what's your costume?"

Her eyebrow cocked slightly and she bit down on her bottom lip.

"A surprise. Good-bye Chris."

She turned the key in the ignition and Chris caught the last few bars of his favourite song playing from a CD.

Only when Faith's car had rounded the corner did Chris slide into his own car and turn the key. The engine roared to life and he smiled.

"Hello baby. How are you doing?"

Wyatt thought Chris was a nutcase for talking to his car like a human being but Chris couldn't help it. He had bought this car out of his own savings and did his own repairs. Granted, Wyatt and his father had helped him but it had mainly been Chris under the hood for a solid three weeks of repair.

Cool air blasted against his face and music filled the small space. Chris reached out and skipped several songs until he reached the familiar tune he had heard in Faith's car.

"Burning All Bridges by Cause and Effect. Excellent." He murmured before beginning his way home.

* * *

Chris fiddled with his suit and groaned. Why… why?

"I cannot believe you made me wear this Wyatt." He grouched to his older brother.

Wyatt smirked and shuffled the cards for Penny, "You lost the bet baby brother. I told you Aunt Paige would freak if someone called her ma'am. Not my fault you bet against me."

Chris mumbled darkly and glanced at the clock. Ten to six.

"She'll get here when she gets here." Wyatt informed Chris with a hidden smirk.

Chris huffed, "I know she will. I'm just… I don't want to have to deal with the cousins from hell."

The eleven-year-old at the table with Wyatt looked scandalized.

"I am not a cousin from hell! Mel and Dora maybe but not me!"

Melinda and Pandora were Penny's older and younger sisters respectively. Melinda was thirteen as of last month and Pandora turned seven in two weeks. Chris's Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Coop had wanted a night out on the town so Piper had kindly offered to baby-sit. The second they had seen Chris getting ready for the dance, endless questioning about Faith had begun, along with arguments over who was going to talk to her first.

Chris rolled his eyes as the doorbell rang. Joyful shouts came from the living room and two sets of feet were heard thundering towards the door.

"MOM!" Chris yelled.

"Come back here girls." Piper said, amusement obvious in her voice.

Two groans came from the hall and Penny slid off the stool and hurried to the door before Chris had time to object. She flung the door open and gazed up at the girl she assumed must be Faith.

"Um, hi, is Chris here?" she asked politely.

Penny grinned toothily, "He sure is. Come inside."

Faith followed the bouncing brunette into the large manor and Penny spun around suddenly.

"Hi! I'm Penny! I'm Phoebe's daughter! I really, really, really like your costume!"

Faith licked her lips, "Well thank-you Penny. I'm Faith."

Penny's eyes shone with mischief, "I know."

Before Faith had time to comprehend Penny's meaning she was being dragged into the kitchen. Wyatt glanced up and he couldn't help but let his eyes roam over Faith's body with appreciation. Chris looked up and his mouth went dry.

"Wow." Was all he could manage, taking in her full appearance.

Faith was dressed in blue jeans dusted with glitter and silver rose winding up the calf of her left leg. A modest, periwinkle blue halter neck exposed her shoulders, which were dusted lightly with body glitter and small paintings of blue butterflies in face paint. But the wings were the perfection of the outfit. In the light of the kitchen they shimmered and shone, looking real and magical. No make-up covered Faith's face apart from a small hint of lip balm on her chapped lips. Her long black hair was curled into loose, corkscrew curls, framing her pale face.

"I'm a fairy." She said, suddenly self-conscious under the gaze she was attracting, "I made the wings myself."

Chris coughed and extended his hand, cocking an eyebrow, "Bond. James Bond."

Faith giggled lightly and shook his hand, "Pleased to meet you Mr. Bond, but I must warn you that I am not a Bond girl."

A blush tinted her cheeks after these words were spoken and Wyatt watched in amusement as he dealt more cards for his and Penny's card game. Piper and Leo entered the kitchen with Mel and Dora trailing behind, eagerly watching Faith's every move.

"Good evening Mrs. Halliwell. Mr. Halliwell." Faith greeted with her usual tilt of her lips.

"Good evening Faith and please, call us Piper and Leo."

Faith glanced at the floor and back to Chris.

"So, Mr. Bond, are we ready to leave?"

Chris gave her a grin, "Yep. Did you really make the wings yourself?"

Faith nodded slowly, glancing over her shoulder at the wings she had spent three hours working on.

"Wasn't that hard." She brushed it off modestly.

Chris laughed and Wyatt shook his head, dealing the cards and preparing for another spectacular loss at the hands of his cousin.

Piper waved her hands and grabbed the camera.

"WAIT! WAIT! I want a picture of the two of you!"

Chris groaned and tried to protest but Faith gave him a glance. Chris turned to his mother and cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, relax Chris," she assured him, snapping a picture of the pair, "I only want one and it will never leave this house."

Chris nodded and said goodbye to his parents and Faith gave a small wave before the two disappeared out of the kitchen and out the door.

* * *

Faith parked in the school parking lot and laughed to herself quietly.

"What?" Chris asked as he got out of her car.

"Bond?" she giggled, licking her lips.

"Wyatt's idea!" Chris insisted, "Besides, Bond is still popular! His new movie just came out in cinemas and it is already a Box Office hit."

"But he's old!" Faith protested as she and Chris walked towards the gym.

"And, not to mention how he should not only be _incredibly_ old by now, but there is _no_ way he would be able to pull off those stunts. Not to mention what he must have caught from those Bond Girls."

Chris faltered and then titled his head, "Yeah, you got me there. But hey, at least this proved I look good in a suit so I won't look like a total idiot at prom!"

Faith laughed and her eyes brightened. She looked incredibly healthier than previous days. Emmalee and Mary had all but forced food down her throat at lunch since she had passed out Monday morning. Chris handed his and Faith's tickets to the boy at the door and he squinted at Faith.

"No students not from this school." He said monotonously, handing back her ticket.

Faith gave him a look and Chris crossed his arms over his chest.

"She does go to this school. Has since freshman year."

The boy looked her up and down and then recognition passed through his eyes.

"You leant me a pen the other day. Sorry. Go on through."

Chris gently took Faith's arm and walked through the doors to the gym. Music was blaring from the speakers and couples were dancing while others mingled around the refreshments table. Apparently Joy had managed to find somewhere to deliver refreshments in two hours.

"Chris, this was a bad idea. Maybe I should go." Faith began as he turned around.

Chris caught her around the waist and spun her around to face him.

"No, you are not leaving. Just because one guy was an idiot it does not mean you should back out. Stay. Please?"

Faith ducked her head and shuffled her feet slightly before she looked up at Chris and crossed her arms over her chest, self-consciously glancing at her outfit.

"You look beautiful." Chris whispered softly into her ear as he led her towards the refreshments table where Billy Cook was pouring amber liquid into one of the punch bowls.

"Billy!" Chris greeted with a smile.

The brown haired boy jumped and sloshed the liquid across the tablecloth. He looked up wildly and relaxed when he saw Chris giving him an amused smile.

"DUDE! How are you doing man? Listen, you saw nothing… Ohh hello baby!"

Billy's eyes landed on Faith and his face broke into a wide grin. He swaggered forward and slung an arm over her shoulders.

"Hello honey, I am Billy Cook and tonight if you need anything I will be glad to be of assistance."

He gave her a rough grin and Chris removed Billy's arm from Faith's shoulders. Faith crossed her arms and leveled Billy with an icy stare.

"I know who you are."

Billy smiled and winked at her, "So my ladies-man reputation precedes me?"

"No." she said shortly cocking her hip and tilting her head.

"We were lab partners all last year." She finished.

"We were?" he said suddenly, the flirtatious tone in his voice dropping.

"Yes," Faith said quietly, her attitude dropping and hurt lacing her tone.

"OH!" Billy gasped suddenly, touching her shoulder and leaning on it slightly.

"You're um… um… Fiona? Frieda? Feronda? Glenda? Grace? Betty?"

"FAITH!" she hissed, pushing him away in disgust before turning on her heel and heading for the door.

Chris followed her, ignoring Billy's yells that he knew her name. He grabbed Faith's arm and she dropped her bag, which emitted a loud thump when it landed. Chris bent to pick it up but Faith snatched it up before he could get to it.

"I'm leaving." She said quickly, attempting to pull out of his grasp.

"If I let you go, how fast will you disappear?" he asked.

"2.9 seconds."

"Stay. Ignore these people Faith, they're idiots who are too busy paying attention to the phony people in life instead of the people with actual substance, okay? Ignore them."

Faith sighed and bit her lip. "Okay. I guess I can stay."

"Thank-you."

Joy stalked over, pink lace draped around her body with a ridiculously large tiara on her head.

"Chris! Wow… you look…sexy." She greeted, giggling in a high pitch. Her eyes flitted to Faith and back to Chris, a snarl curling at her lip.

"Faith! You and Chris are together?" she snarled, her fake smile dropping.

"We're friends." Faith said quietly, casting her gaze anywhere but Joy's face.

The blonde laughed and placed a hand on her chest, "Well that's sweet. I'm here with George Hayden. The quarterback? So, I better get back to him."

She gave Chris one last glance before she looked Faith up and down and let out small huff.

"Nice outfit." She remarked snidely before cutting a path through the dance floor.

Faith blinked back tears and Chris touched her shoulder, "Like I said Faith, you look beautiful. Joy is a hair-brained bimbo so don't listen to her."

"I won't." Faith insisted, wiping away the small tear on her cheek.

A large group approached Chris and Faith; the group's costumes consisted of 'Dracula' with a high-collared cape and plastic fangs, arm in arm with Dorothy, ruby slippers glittering on her feet (Ben and Emmalee) while a shy-looking angel had her hand securely locked with a Frankenstein look-alike. (Mary and Jackson). Harry and Carolyn (dressed as a king and queen) were standing in a corner, far too busy making out to notice anyone or thing around them.

Emmalee looked Chris up and down and smirked, "Nice outfit Chris, Bond?"

Chris nodded and tugged Faith into view, not allowing her to shy away from the spotlight. Emmalee's eyes widened and Mary smiled brightly.

"Faith! You look amazing!"

The familiar pink worked across Faith's cheeks and Chris smiled as his two female friends dragged her aside so they could admire her work.

Jackson and Ben exchanged knowing looks when they caught sight of Chris's face. Neither of them had seen him smile like that since Clara had been with him, and even then, this smile looked even larger.

Faith was dragged back and Emmalee nudged her boyfriend in the side.

"Well, we should go check out the refreshments table." She hinted to her boyfriend with a wink. Ben looked at her confusedly and shook his head.

"But I want to talk to Chris-"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence before Emmalee was hauling him by his Dracula collar. Mary caught the subtle hint and Jackson departed willingly with her. With a roll of his eyes, Chris turned to Faith.

"Sorry about them. They're a little… weird. A lot weird actually, but hey, that's them."

Faith just giggled behind her hand. Chris heard the DJ start a new song so he extended his hand to Faith.

"C'mon Faith. Let's dance."

"WHAT! I don't know how to dance!" Faith panicked as Chris pulled her onto the floor.

The brunette just laughed and spun her around before she could object.

"Well now you're gonna learn!"

* * *

Emmalee watched the pair dance over the top of her cup of punch. She had been wise and had the bowl of punch that didn't reek of alcohol. A smile curved at her lips when she saw Chris playfully dip Faith over his arm, coaxing a laugh from the young woman.

Excusing herself from the… riveting… conversation of who was going to win the school football match at the end of the year, Emmalee took Mary's arm and headed towards the DJ.

"Hey," she said over the loud music, "you take requests?"

The DJ shook his head and ignored her, playing another song. With a huff, Emmalee retrieved a crisp, 100-dollar bill from her purse.

"Do you take requests?" she asked again, waving the note in his face.

The man snatched the bill from her hand and nodded, "What do you want?"

Emmalee cast a glance over her shoulder and Mary followed her gaze to the couple dancing on the floor. Mary smiled softly; she hadn't seen Chris so happy before.

"A slow song." Emmalee requested, "But nothing sappy."

With a nod the DJ switched songs, prompting several boys on the dance floor to pull away and run for the sidelines. Faith immediately stopped dancing and made to run away but Chris held her tightly and he began to dance with her in time to the music

Mary nodded in approval, "Sneaky. But are you sure it was okay to give him that one hundred dollars?"

Emmalee shrugged, "Mom said it is my allowance to spend it how I like. And this," she gestured to the two figures on the dance floor, "is worth it."

Emmalee was from a rich family, a fact that only a few people knew. She didn't want to become one of the popular crowd just because she had money.

Casting one last look to Chris and Faith she and Mary headed back over to their boyfriends.

* * *

Faith stood awkwardly on Chris's firm yet soft embrace, moving in time with the music. Without thinking, she gently placed her head on his chest and sighed sleepily.

"You alright?" Chris asked, causing a rumbling in his chest that made Faith jerk slightly.

"Yeah," she yawned, "just sleepy. But, hey, the night is young. I'll be fine!"

The dance continued for a few moments before the music stopped and Joy strutted onto the stage. She took the microphone and tossed her hair.

"Hello everyone! For those of you who don't know me, I'm Joy Hart and I am the person who made all of this possible tonight!"

Faith tutted beside him and Chris smirked.

"Anyways, I just want to, like, totally congratulate most people on their efforts for costumes tonight. While –some- of them aren't that great, I'm pretty sure you tried your hardest. Well anyway, I'm going to go and have fun!"

She turned to walk away and Chris saw Faith's fists clench slightly and her head drop. Joy had looked directly at her while mentioning the not-great outfits. Everyone had seen it and some people were already pointing and giggling at Faith. Anger bubbled inside Chris and, before he could stop himself, he discreetly flicked his fingers at Joy. She stumbled in her heels and fell face-first into the refreshments table, sending spiked punch all over her dress and soggy chips into her hair.

Laughter echoed in the small hall while Joy stood up and tried to regain her dignity, failing miserably when she tore the bottom of her dress. With a shrill scream, Joy stormed out of the hall in a huff, breaking her heel and tripping down the stairs as she left. Faith nudged Chris in the ribs.

"That was personal gain," she admonished, "but thank-you."

Chris smiled warmly and watched as she blushed.

"Anytime. For you."

This time there was no mistaking the blush that crossed over Faith's face.

"Want to dance?" Faith asked shyly, twisting her fingers into the bottom of her halter neck top.

"Sure." Chris agreed with a smile only Wyatt could have taught him.

* * *

Hours later, when Faith's car pulled up outside the manor, a heavy feeling sunk into Chris's chest. The night was over. He cast a glance at Faith and she sighed.

"Thanks Chris. For _everything_ tonight. I really did have fun."

"Me too." Chris agreed. He wasn't lying, tonight had been one of the best times he had had since Clara left.

The light on the porch turned on and two shapes appeared in the doorframe, clearly distinguishable as Piper Halliwell and Leo Wyatt.

"I should probably go. So I will see you on Sunday, right?"

"Sunday." Faith agreed with a shy smile.

Chris shifted and opened the door, but turned back to Faith, needing to say something to her.

"I did mean it." He said to her softly.

"Mean what?" Faith asked, hoping he was talking about what she thought he was talking about.

Chris flashed her a crooked grin, "You really do look beautiful tonight."

Red crept into her cheeks and Faith summoned all her courage to throw a comment back, "You don't scrub up too shabbily either… Mr. Bond."

Chris merely winked at her and Faith shifted in her seat. Chris bid her goodnight and she drove off, fire raging on her cheeks.

Chris ambled up the path towards his parents, both wearing identical smiles.

"How was your night?" Piper asked in 'that tone'. The tone that clearly stated 'we know something or we hope something is going on between you and her'

"It was great. Joy made quite the exit and the DJ was amazing. Gale Clermont and Fred Gibbons got into a fight and had to be separated by the teacher chaperones but other then that… it was good."

"I'm glad." Leo smiled at his younger son.

"I'm going to go to bed." Chris told them, sneaking out of the kitchen before the interrogation began.

Chris made it into his room and saw Wyatt stretched out on his bed like a cat, flipping through the book Chris was currently reading. (_A Complete History of Salem Witch Trials and Their Effect on Today's World')_

"You are probably the most boring person I have ever met." Wyatt remarked casually as he flipped another page and wrinkled his nose.

"That is disturbing." He murmured at the image of a woman with stones around her ankles being thrown into a body of water.

"Wyatt, you do remember that three years ago we did get our **own** rooms? And now this is **my** room, making that **my** bed? And you do have **your **apartment, which is where, I assume, you would find **your** bed?"

"I'm aware." Wyatt said casually, turning another page and wincing.

"Yikes, these people were freaks!"

Chris rolled his eyes and searched for his boxers in his drawers. He could have sworn he had put them in here after his Mom had returned his laundry… come to think of it, what were his jeans doing in his T-shirts drawer?"

"Wyatt," he growled, "were you re-arranging my drawers? Again?"

Wyatt laughed and raked a hand through his blond curls, "Had to do something while I waited for you to come home. Besides, it is not healthy to neurotically organize everything like that."

"I do not '_neurotically organize_!' I keep things clean and tidy!"

"To-may-to. To-mah-to." Wyatt replied, dragging out every syllable.

"Wy-att shu-t it." Chris returned, re-organizing everything to his preferred place.

Wyatt sat up and cocked an eyebrow.

"So, you kiss her?"

"No." Chris replied immediately, folding his jeans and placing them into the third drawer.

"Ask her out?"

"No."

"Are you crazy? You're totally into her and she is into you!"

"Wyatt, drop it." Chris said flatly, closing his drawer when he finally found his boxers stashed in his sock drawer.

"Hell no! Come on, what's wrong with her? I know you're into her I can see it!"

Chris faltered and shook his head, heading towards the door to change in the bathroom. Wyatt caught his shoulder and hauled him back.

"Hey, bro. I know something's wrong. We tell each other almost everything, what is it?"

With a sigh, Chris sat down heavily.

"I think she's demon." He said finally.

Wyatt sat down beside his brother instantly.

"What do you mean?"

Chris relayed everything to his brother, from the absence at school to the similarities between her and the Halex demon clan that was currently giving the Halliwell family hell. Wyatt listened patiently and did not interrupt his brother's rambling, a rare thing for Wyatt to do. As soon as Chris had finished, Wyatt looked at his brother thoughtfully.

"Chris, that is a lot of great evidence but, do you think that maybe if she was a demon she would have killed you by now?"

Chris gestured silently before he fell back onto his bed with a thud.

"I don't know! My gut is telling me that something about Faith is… different but she is so nice AND, like you said, she hasn't tried to kill me! But what if she is collecting information or something? Or she is just waiting for the perfect moment? Or-"

"Chris," Wyatt interrupted, "There are millions of what if scenarios every day of your life and do you constantly worry about those? How about this, seeing as Faith genuinely seems to be an okay girl, how about you and I keep an eye on her? If anything seems to be suspicious then we will check it out but until then…" Wyatt slapped his brother on the stomach and stood up.

"…You like her and she likes you. Make a move. Or I just might."

With that said, Wyatt headed for the door, only stopped by his baby brother's voice.

"Hey, Wy?"

"Yeah Chris?"

Chris smirked and sat up, "Where did you get that what if quote? A fortune cookie?"

Wyatt flipped his brother a hand gesture that would have Piper prattling on about manners before he ducked out the door. Chris flopped back onto the bed and sighed. For now, he was going to give Faith a chance.

A smile crossed his features when he looked back on the events of the night. He'd had a really great time with Faith; maybe he _would_ ask her out. Wyatt's parting words suddenly registered in his mind and he flew off his bed again.

"Hey! You can't make a move on Faith!"

* * *

**A/N- Hello everyone! Sorry for the slight delay but 'twas the season! Thanks for the reviews and the faves and such. Any chance I could get five reviews for this chapter? Pretty please? Anyway, the next chapter has another light shone on Faith's identity and our little Chrissy may just make a move!**


	7. Chapter 7

By the time Sunday arrived Chris had already worked his way through several pro/con lists. Unfortunately they had been very little help as every pro had a con and every con had a pro. So, twenty minutes before Faith was due to arrive, Chris swallowed his pride and went straight to the one person he knew would know the answer. Besides Wyatt because he had already asked him and Wyatt told him to work it out himself.

"Hey, mom?" Chris asked hesitantly from the door in the kitchen.

Piper stopped stirring her cake mixture and looked up instantly.

"Yeah Peanut?"

Chris wrinkled his nose at the nickname he had outgrown several years before and stepped inside the kitchen. Several trays of brownies were spread across the countertop, approximately three hundred salmon puffs aligned neatly on trays and mountains of cookies stacked across the table Chris had intended on using when he and Faith were studying.

"Need some help?" Chris offered politely, loving to help his mother bake. Wyatt was, much to Chris's intense amusement, culinary-impaired. He could boil water… sort of.

Piper arched an eyebrow but nodded, pushing the mixing bowl towards her youngest son. She and Chris baked on a semi-regular basis, making cookies and muffins for when her nieces and nephew came over to visit. Chris was oddly silent as he worked, adding ingredients to the mixture without measuring but with a strong knowledge of what he was doing.

"Peanut? Is something the matter?"

"I like Faith." Chris blurted out, wishing with all his might to sink into the ground as soon as the words left his mouth.

Piper's mouth curved upwards, "Obviously Peanut. I haven't seen you smile so much since Clara. What I am more worried about is why you are coming to me about it. Isn't it some secret code that you are not to ask your mother for anything but money and telling her about your romantic life is strictly prohibited?"

Chris laughed, pouring the cake mixture into a pan and placing it in the oven.

"Yeah, but… I need your help. I mean… I like Faith but I think something about her is different. Demonically different."

Piper's instincts went on red-alert, images of Jeremy and Cole rising in her mind. A picture of Chris lying dead in the Underworld rose ominously in her mind.

"Why?" she said instantly, glancing at the clock to find they had ten minutes until Faith would arrive.

"Just some similarities to the Halex demons but Wyatt says I am probably afraid to get close to her and I am making excuses. It is nothing serious and she has never actually tried to attack me or anything so…maybe I am just being paranoid." Chris explained hurriedly, almost seeing the cogs turning in his mother's head.

The brunette (well almost, raising two boys can give you more than a few gray hairs that even hair dye cannot erase) woman sighed, relaxing and allowing her heart rate to settle.

"Well, Chris, if that is what you think then I think that maybe you should go with what your heart tells you. Personally, I think Faith is a polite young woman and I don't get any bad vibes from her but- it is up to you. What do you think you should do?" Piper advised her youngest son.

She knew that she couldn't hold on to Chris forever. He was growing up, just like Wyatt. Next year he would head off to college and move on. She wanted him to make his own decisions, as hard as it was.

"I guess… I like her." Chris's cheeks heated up under his mother's suddenly wide smile.

"Okay then Peanut. Well she will be here in five minutes. Unfortunately, the restaurant is catering a party so I'm kind of up to my elbows in food so you and Faith will have to study somewhere else."

Piper had opened her restaurant when Chris turned six but continued running P3. It was hard to juggle in the beginning but by now she had a relatively smooth rhythm.

Chris shrugged, "It's okay we can use the desk in my room."

Piper smiled softly and nodded, watching the blush on her son's cheeks deepen at the thought of what his words could been taken as. It would have been bad enough if he had said it to Wyatt… but his _mother_?

There was a knock on the door and Chris sighed with relief, darting out of the kitchen before his mother had a chance to say anything. Chris yanked the door open and greeted Faith warmly. Today her legs were encased in a pair of blue jeans with pictures decorating the legs and pockets while her upper body was covered by a green T-shirt a size or two too big with the words 'Art is freedom' scrawled in black. The look was completely different to anything you would see on almost any girl at school and Chris felt that it suit her.

"Come in Faith, Mom is kind of on a cooking freak-out so we'll have to study in my room if that is okay."

Chris didn't need to turn around to know that Faith's pale face had a red blush tinting the skin. Walking through the kitchen, Faith gave Piper a nervous wave and greeted her quietly. Piper returned the gesture with a warm smile before Chris whisked Faith out of the kitchen.

Heading up the stairs, Wyatt poked his head out of his door and grinned wickedly.

"Leave the door open Chris!" he whispered slyly as his brother passed by.

Wyatt's comment only received a hand gesture from Chris, but Faith's ears caught the comment and her blush raged across her face. Wyatt smiled when she passed by him and closed his door.

Faith had seen Chris's room the first time she came to study but it had changed slightly. Now, stacks of books crowded his work desk and a large tome rested on his bed.

"Is that the Book Of Shadows?" she asked in awe.

Chris looked up and nodded, "Yeah I was looking through it last night. I was meant to take it back to the attic. Mom might freak if I don't, can you wait a second while I take it back?"

"Sure."

Chris left the room with the book in hand and Faith took the time to study his room. His bookcase was stacked to breaking point and Faith recognized every title and author. A book was resting on his bedside table and curiosity nagged at her brain. Standing up she fluidly moved to his bedside. Her lips tilted when she saw the title.

'_Twilight_'

"It's a good book." A voice said from behind her. Faith jumped slightly and the book slid from her grasp to the floor, a blush instantly painting her cheeks for being caught looking at his things.

"S-sorry for snooping!" she stammered, "I was just wondering what you were reading!"

Chris smiled at her and entered the room, bending down to pick up the book from the floor.

"Relax, it's not like you were going through my clothes drawers. It's just a book."

There was a small pause before Chris raised his eyebrow teasingly, "You _weren't_ going through my drawers, right?"

Faith giggled softly and lowered her head, "Darn, you caught me!"

Chris laughed along with her before they sat down at his desk and Faith opened her textbook.

"Seeing as we just finished algebra on Friday I don't see what there is to study honestly."

Chris smiled and removed a sheet of paper.

"Ah but I have your semester work plan for math so today we are going to start your work early!"

The green-eyed girl groaned, dropping her head into her arms, "Why?" she complained.

"Because you need to pass math to graduate. To move on in your future."

"I don't have a future, Chris, I told you that I wasn't going to graduate. I have much more pressing demands that _can_ not and _will_ not wait until I have been handed one lousy piece of paper!" she snapped, eyes shining with anger.

Chris's smile dropped and Faith almost immediately slipped back into her regular shy state. Her eyes suddenly found the floor very fascinating and her hands twisted nervously.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm just a little…out of it today."

"It's okay," Chris reassured her, "do you want to start?"

"Not really, but sure."

* * *

Half an hour later Faith threw down her pen and sighed, "Math is not my forte."

Chris laughed and checked her working, watching her out of the corner of his eye. She was very pretty, he noticed while she nervously bit her lips and absently wound a strand of her messy hair around her fingertip. She wasn't like the girls who threw themselves at him because he was Wyatt's brother. Those girls usually wore pieces of cloth that barely passed as clothes and had their hair and nails professionally done to perfection. Faith was a different kind of pretty.

"Sorry Faith, wrong. You multiplied instead of dividing at the beginning and carried the error through." He informed her, pushing the book back.

"Brilliant."

Faith looked at the time and back at Chris.

"It has only been half an hour? Only?"

"We could take a break?" Chris suggested, watching with amusement as Faith's eyes lit up.

"I'm all for that!" she agreed happily, closing her book and sitting her bag on her lap. She removed her sketchbook and began to flip through the pages.

"What are you looking for?"

"It's a surprise." She said mysteriously.

A few moments passed before Faith titled her lips and turned the page over for Chris to see. It was a sketch of a bluebird perched in a tree branch, a breathtaking sky in the background.

"Faith that is amazing." Chris praised.

Her dull green eyes focused on the picture, deliberately drinking in every detail of the small bluebird. The ripple through her spine caused her lips to tilt at the edges. A tiny bluebird was hopping across Chris's work desk, almost confused as to where it was.

"Hey there birdie." Faith whispered, offering her finger as a perch. The bird flew onto her finger and began to twitter softly. Chris watched with fascination as Faith turned to look at him.

"I have been practicing. Nothing serious, just a few things here and there. Although, I accidentally conjured something that was probably not wise. My daddy nearly had a heart attack."

"What?" Chris laughed, genuinely interested in what she had accidentally conjured. As a child, when his powers had gone haywire it usually ended in his mother having to replace very expensive china.

"Well, for an art class we had to all draw a model each, and I was going through my notebook last night while my parents and I were watching TV and I was looking at it thinking I could have done a little more definition, a little more shading when… a shirtless male model was standing in the middle of the living room."

The last few words were spat out quickly but Chris caught them. He couldn't help but grin at the tomato blush covering her face.

"A male model? What did you do?" Chris asked.

"I ripped up the paper! I wasn't about to leave him standing there!"

His shoulders shaking uncontrollably, Chris tried to stifle his laughter- to no avail.

Faith laughed along with him after a few beats. The bluebird, clearly sensing something, began to twitter uncontrollably as well as flapping its wings.

"Faith?" Chris said suddenly, gathering all his courage together, "Would you like to go out sometime?"

Faith froze in her movements, the bird also paused it's wing flapping as though it had understood, "I'm sorry? I-I think I missed that?"

"Would… would you like to go out with me sometime? On a date?"

Faith appeared to be frozen in place until she suddenly blinked and bit her lip.

"Um… okay." She replied as a pink streaked her cheeks.

"Excellent. How about Friday? I can pick you up at six thirty?"

"Perfect." Faith whispered to his desk, too shy to look Chris in his eyes.

* * *

People have always said that time drags on when you are looking forward to something.

They were wrong.

The entire week passed faster then Faith could blink. She did, however, remember the hour and a half session she had with her father after informing him Chris had asked her out. Chris had received a similar talk from Wyatt, Piper and Leo, who had noticed the blush on Faith's cheeks and obvious happiness in her eyes when she had left the manor Sunday afternoon.

When Emmalee, Jackson, Ben, Harry and Mary had found out, Emmalee and Mary had promptly hauled Faith away from the table to receive a blow-by-blow account of what had happened. Faith omitted the details about the bluebird to life and anything regarding magic but nonetheless, squeals were heard from across the cafeteria.

It didn't take word long to get out that Chris Halliwell, Wyatt Halliwell's younger brother had asked out a girl barely anyone knew existed. Thankfully, seeing as Chris wasn't in the gossip spotlight, nobody really seemed to care. Joy on the other hand seemed to skulk around the school in the foulest of moods. The week went by as usual and Chris couldn't help but feel both excited and nervous at the thought of going out with Faith.

Wyatt had offered his own 'brotherly advice', which resulted in several objects being aimed at his head. Nothing that would cause any or much damage to his older brother, just a light hit to the head.

Friday came, the school day passing slower then Chris would have liked. He saw Faith briefly during English and in the halls before lunch. Every time he caught her eye she would brush adorably and lower her head, finding her shoes and other various items on the ground fascinating.

Ben, Harry and Jackson had found themselves eating alone at lunchtime because Mary and Emmalee were drilling advice into Faith's head across the room. Chris was watching as Faith shook her head and shrugged her shoulders in regular intervals, clearly attempting at paying attention but having little luck. She cautiously glanced over at his table and flicked her gaze to the tabletop when she saw Chris looking back.

Benjamin nudged Jackson and Harry protested indignantly when Jackson prodded him in the ribs. Ben silently motioned to Chris, absently toying with his fork and casting his gaze to the table of females across the room. Harry cracked a mischievous grin and leaned across the table.

"So, white lace or pink satin?"

Chris jerked his head up, narrowing his eyes at his shagging-haired friend.

"What?"

Harry stretched his arms above his head and yawned, listening to the giggles erupt from behind him. Harry was one of the more 'wanted' guys at Baker High with his adorably chocolate puppy eyes and shaggy brown hair he had girls worshipping the ground he walked on. Why he chose Carolyn was beyond Chris's comprehension.

"Well you keep looking at her so my guess is you are undressing her with your eyes. White lace or pink satin?" Harry teased with a raise of his eyebrows.

Jackson sniggered and Ben shook his head slowly. Harry was a dead man.

Across the cafeteria, Emmalee looked up to find Chris and Harry exchanging what appeared to be heated 'words'. Harry was cowering under Chris's whacks to the head and protesting that _'it was only a joke Chris!'_

She rolled her eyes and watched Faith push her food around her tray with distaste.

"Gross. Are these peas? Or jello?" she asked, watching an unknown green substance slide off her fork. Friday was always the worst cafeteria day. Any other day the food was normal. Friday was terrible.

"Peas." Emmalee said at the same time Mary said jello.

"It's wiggling!" Mary protested.

"But it is dark green and mushy!" Emmalee returned.

"Either way… I'm not eating it." Faith decided as she slid it over to the side of her plate where a fair amount of food was accumulating. Emmalee eyed the pile of limp carrots oozing some form of liquid, the slightly questionable slice of meat, the mutant 'jello peas' and several unidentified vegetables with distaste.

"So, Faith are you nervous about tonight?"

"Why should I be?" she asked honestly, stirring her mashed potatoes around in circles.

Emmalee crossed her arms and leant forward, "You're going out on a date! I remember on my first date with Ben I was so nervous I thought I was going to throw up!"

Mary nodded in agreement, "And when I started dating Jackson I was so nervous that he would change his mind and not like me!"

Butterflies swam nervously in Faith's stomach at these words. What if she threw up? What if Chris changed his mind? What if everything went entirely wrong and her friendship with Chris became awkward?

"No," she lied, "I'm not nervous at all."

She wasn't, she told herself firmly, it was a date.

How hard could it be?

* * *

Faith tossed a pair of jeans across the room with an impatient growl. Did she own anything that wasn't covered in some form of artistic media? Or anything she could wear on her very first date and actually look respectable? Why on earth hadn't she done this earlier?

"Oh and don't order spaghetti!" her mother warned her from Faith's bed.

"Why?" Faith asked, her voice muffled from inside her wardrobe.

"It is very hard to look elegant while eating spaghetti. And nothing with cheese! Too stringy!"

Faith appeared in the doorway to her walk-in wardrobe with a blank expression on her face.

"Mom, honestly, this was a bad idea. There isn't even going to be a date if I can't find something to wear!"

Item after item was expelled from the wardrobe, pants, tops and shoes. Each item either had some form of paint or crayon marring the fabric. Tanya had spent many hours painstakingly attempting to rid the fabric of these stains but to no avail. After Faith turned five and discovered her 'calling' for art, Tanya had grown used to the near-constant stains on her daughter's clothes day by day.

"What about your black pants and your midnight blue v-neck?" her mother suggested helpfully from the bed, watching her daughter's frustration grow.

"Mom, the temperature is going haywire, it may be warm now but what if it gets cold? I don't want to be carrying around a sweater though!"

"Then take along your black button-up, it will keep you warm and it won't look odd in the current temperature."

Faith found the aforementioned items and glared at them doubtfully.

"Thank-you mommy." She said finally.

"You're welcome sweetie. Remember- no spaghetti or cheese."

Tanya headed for the door but was stopped by her daughter's hand on her shoulder.

"Uh- mom? If Chris gets here before I come downstairs… keep dad away from him?"

Tanya Cullen smiled, "I make no promises, your father is only trying to keep you safe."

Faith nodded and allowed her mother to leave before she looked down at her clothing choice. Cautiously pulling her chosen clothes on, Faith set at working on her mass of black hair. She had already showered, making her hair slightly damp and near impossible to tame, but after ten minutes of brushing her long black locks were sitting remarkably straight down her back. Her outfit complemented her form, clinging to the tiniest of curves to make it seem as though she had a figure instead of just a stick body, without making it seem _too_ clingy.

Deciding against make-up and settling for some good old-fashioned lip balm, Faith anxiously wound her fingers through her hair while she looked into the mirror. She wasn't Clara. Clara had been tall, athletic and curvy with amazing blonde hair, which made her large baby blue eyes look even more stunning. Faith was just under average height and rail-thin (a fact she couldn't help) with straggly black hair and dull green eyes. Clara had been top of her class in everything, as had Chris. Faith's grades trailed along with the pack in everything but art, where she excelled to the top, and were at near bottom with math and physical education.

And Clara had been normal. And Faith was different.

A car engine was heard outside the house and butterflies began to form in Faith's stomach. The doorbell rang downstairs and Faith grabbed her handbag before heading down the stairs. She heard the door open and her father's voice floated up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Chris stepped inside the house while Faith's father closed the door behind him.

"So… Christopher." He said Chris's name like it was a particularly bad weed, "where are you taking my daughter tonight? My _**seventeen year old**_ and _**only**_ daughter?"

Trying to keep his face calm and relaxed, Chris answered the question politely, "To a restaurant, sir."

The answer seemed to satisfy John so he crossed his arms, "Now, boy. Usually Faith's curfew is eleven when she is out at the library and whatnot but tonight I'm changing it to ten o'clock. **Sharp**." He added with finality.

"Understood sir. I won't keep her out a minute later."

'_Or earlier'_ he added silently in his head.

Faith appeared at the bottom of the stairs and Chris momentarily forgot he wasn't alone in the room with Faith. Her mother was now in the foyer with them but Chris's hadn't noticed at all. The nervous tilt of her lips and pink blush on her cheeks looked adorable and Chris couldn't help but smile.

"Good evening Chris." Faith said in a tone barely above a whisper. She gestured to her outfit and looked up nervously, "Is this okay because I can change-"

"You're perfect." Chris cut her off.

The blush deepened and a hand landed on his arm. Chris looked up into the green eyes of John Cullen, "Ten o'clock boy." He whispered dangerously.

Then he stepped forward and added a final sentence, loud enough for only Chris to hear.

"Don't hurt my baby girl boy. Or you might find yourself missing limbs."

Satisfied with his threat, John stepped back and kissed his daughter's forehead.

"Have fun sweetie. Ten o'clock, remember?"

Tanya kissed her daughter's forehead too and whispered something in her ear, (remember- no spaghetti!) before they said goodbye and Chris lead Faith out to his car. He paused in the doorway and looked casually over his shoulder.

"Mr. Cullen?" he said, prompting the man in question, along with Faith and Tanya, to turn around.

"I won't." Chris said simply and honestly.

The meaning of the two words was lost on Faith and Mrs. Cullen but Mr. Cullen nodded, a flicker of trust going through his eyes before he hardened his features.

"You better not, boy." He growled.

Chris just smiled and closed the door before leading Faith to his car.

* * *

The lights of San Francisco blurred by and Faith nervously played with her shirt.

"Chris? What was that stuff with my daddy before we left? You won't what?"

Chris turned the wheel and smiled to himself, "I won't hurt you. He told me not to hurt you and I said I wouldn't."

The black-haired teen groaned and covered her face, 'I'm _so, so, so_ sorry you had to deal with that. You have my deepest and sincerest apologies Chris."

The brunette boy just laughed good-naturedly, "Don't worry, dealing with father's is part of what makes dating interesting. Besides, I can understand why he would be so protective of you."

"Because I am his only daughter, caught somewhere between late adolescence and early adulthood, not a girl not yet a woman?" Faith guessed.

"Yes, that; but because you're special as well."

"Special?" Faith asked, blush tinting her cheeks.

"Special." Chris agreed, refusing to elaborate.

"Good '_special_' or bad '_special_?'"

"Just special." Chris replied mysteriously.

Faith stopped questioning but continued to look at him for a few moments before lowering her head with another tilt of her lips.

"You like Italian?" Chris asked her as they drove, effectively changing the subject.

"I love Italian." Faith replied, a smile tilting on her lips.

Chris parked his car and they stepped out onto the street. Chris took Faith's hand in his own, a bold gesture for the boy, and led Faith down the small street beside one of the buildings. After a few minutes, a small restaurant came into view. It wasn't big or fancy, just simple and elegant. Deliciously mouth-watering smells wafted towards Faith and she breathed in deliberately.

"Mmmmm. Were _are_ we?"

"Salizzoni's, not many people come here because it is so out of the way but the food here is beyond amazing."

Chris gently pulled her inside, the scent becoming so strong Faith's stomach protested at its current lack of sustenance.

"Christopher!" A female voice called out. A tall woman came into view, her long hair tied up stylishly behind her head, her eyes glittering when they landed on Faith and Chris's joined hands.

"Ahh, I see you have a friend with you." She said with a knowing twinkle in her eye.

Chris blushed slightly and introduced them, "Faith, this is Gabriella Salizzoni; Gabriella, this is Faith Cullen."

"Nice to meet you," Faith said politely, shaking the woman's hand.

"The pleasure is all mine dear! I must say, young Christopher has never brought a girl here, you must be very precious to him."

This time the blush darkened on both parties' cheeks while Gabriella watched in amusement.

"Well then, Christopher, I am sure you will take your usual table. Right this way."

The woman led them to a booth in the back corner of the room with a spectacular view of the outside patio. Chris had been right about the attendance. Several couples were sitting cosily at tables but the restaurant itself seemed alive and warm.

"I will be back soon with your meals." Gabriella said with a wink.

"But we didn't order." Faith pointed out when the woman had disappeared.

"Gabriella has a knack for knowing what you want when you don't. I can call her back if you want to order yourself?"

Faith shook her head, "No, it's nice that she does that. How do you know her?"

Chris smiled warmly, "Her son was being attacked by a demon and I killed it. It was my first real vanquish alone and we kept in contact afterwards. Mom was proud of me and we sometimes come here to eat."

Faith twitched her lips and looked around. The small restaurant had an air of elegance and comfort.

"It is beautiful here." She breathed, her eyes darting outside to the patio where soft music was playing and fairy lights twinkled merrily.

Chris smiled again, "I know. I come here a lot, sometimes just to do my homework. Gabriella usually forces food down my throat and sends some home with me for Mom to try."

The conversation was interrupted when a man hurried over with two glasses balanced on a tray with heavenly smelling bread and dip.

"Hello Christopher, who is your friend?" he asked with a heavy accent.

"Antonio, this is Faith Cullen. Faith, this is Antonio. He is Gabriella's husband."

"Pleasure to meet you."

The man smiled down at the two and placed the bread onto the centre of the table with the dip beside it. He lowered the glasses and asked for their drink preference.

"Could I please have a Coke?" Chris asked, turning to Faith for her answer.

"Just water, please."

Antonio nodded and disappeared behind the door where the tantalising smell was originating. Faith cautiously reached for the bread and tried a small piece. The flavour excited her taste buds and she sighed happily.

"Heaven. I am officially in heaven."

Chris smiled and Antonio returned with the drinks.

"Gabriella will be out with your food in a moment. Enjoy."

He tipped Chris a knowing wink and left, leaving the pair alone at the table once more.

Faith cautiously sipped her drink, wondering how to start a conversation with Chris. She didn't know how things usually worked on dates- mostly because she had never been on one before.

"Special how?" she blurted out, red painting her cheeks at her sudden outburst.

Chris took his time in answering; trying some more bread and sipping at his drink before he smiled at his date for the evening.

"You're different. You don't fling yourself at guys and you don't get into trouble and you have an _amazing_ talent. Your father looks at you and sees the future you have ahead of you- the things you could do. And then he sees boys; and his vision changes into several alternatives. He's protective you because you are special."

Faith inwardly cursed the growing warmth of her cheeks, wishing that she had even the slightest amount of control over her blushing. Footsteps approached the table and a mouth-watering scent caught the slight breeze, making Faith's stomach protest at the lack of food again. Gabriella set the two plates down and smiled at the pair before her.

" Lasagne for Christopher and my special mushroom ravioli for the lovely lady. Enjoy."

She disappeared into the kitchen and Faith glanced down at her delectably looking plate.

"This is exactly what I wanted." She said in awe, breathing in the scent.

Chris smiled and picked up his fork, "Like I said, Gabriella just knows."

They began to eat, speaking in between forkfuls of their respective dishes. Faith learnt that Chris was looking to become a social worker, like his Aunt Paige had once been.

"I like idea of helping people, I mean, I always have helped innocents and it made me feel complete." He explained as he sipped his drink.

"What about you? If you _were_ going to graduate, even though you are quite adamantly saying you aren't." he supplied the last part quickly, not wanting to spark an argument or sore spot.

Faith thought very hard, her lips parting and brow furrowing. She hadn't honestly thought about what she would do if she actually graduated- not that she would.

"A doctor." She said finally, suddenly finding the tablecloth amazingly interesting.

"Why?"

"I want to help people too. I like the idea of helping people when they are sick and saving lives. I mean, mom and daddy say that I have so much art potential but—_IF_ I graduated—which I am _NOT—_I would want to be a doctor." Faith looked up to find Chris smiling warmly at her, "Took all the wrong subjects to do so," she added with an eye roll, "But medicine would be the way I wanted to go."

"What?" she asked suddenly when she became aware of the gaze Chris was using on her. A smile plastered his face and she asked again.

"Nothing, nothing." Chris said with a shake of his head and another secret smile before returning to his food.

Time ticked by faster then Faith would have liked, ten o'clock inching closer and closer. Dessert had been beyond amazing and left Faith feeling bloated beyond human comprehension. Nine o'clock chimed and Faith sighed happily.

"This place is amazing. Maybe I can lure my parents here one night."

Chris laughed, "Gabriella never forgets a face. She will _expect _you to come again. Come on, I want to show you something."

Without waiting for Faith to say anything Chris too her hand and lead her out onto the patio where the soft music was playing from an early 2000s tape deck. The lights cast a soft glow onto Faith's pale skin and she looked up at Chris.

"And what, pray tell, is it you wish to show me?"

Swooping in, Chris placed one hand on her waist before spinning her in a circle with the other.

"Absolutely nothing, it was all a trick to actually get you out here to dance with me."

"But I can't dance!" Faith protested with a slight giggle when Chris spun her again before bringing her into the circle of his arms.

"You _have_ said that," Chris reminded her, "and I _did _prove you wrong. Everyone _can_ dance."

"Well then I just can't dance well." Faith protested without moving away from him.

Song after song went by and they continued to dance and talk, couples coming on and off the dance floor every so often. Chris learned that Faith enjoyed French poetry, despite not understanding a word of it; loved chocolate ice cream even in winter and always carried her sketchbook no matter where she went. Unfortunately, nine thirty arrived and Chris pulled away.

"We should probably be leaving. I don't particularly want to lose any limbs for not having you back on time."

Faith sighed but knew he was right, "I know, I wouldn't _want_ you to lose any limbs because I wasn't back on time."

Chris took her hand and led her back inside. Gabrielle came over and handed them a bill. Faith reached for her purse and Chris caught her wrist.

"No, I'll pay."

"But-"

"I asked you here- I will pay. It's tradition."

He flashed his heart-melting smile that gave Wyatt's a clear run for its money and she felt her will crumble.

"Okay."

Chris paid for their meal and Gabriella warmly shook Faith's hand.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, I hope you come back soon. Take care."

The walk to Chris' car and the drive to Faith's house were far too quick by Chris's standards. It seemed as though he had just pulled out of the parking space before he was pulling up outside Faith's house. Lights were on in the house, the porch light brightly shining by the door.

"Oh joy," Faith murmured sarcastically when she saw the curtain lift up and her mother's face peer excitedly through the window.

Chris clearly had heard her and he cut the engine before sliding out of his door and opening hers.

"Milady." He said with a straight face, offering her his arm.

"Why thank-you kind sir." She giggled, making her way up the path arm-in-arm with Chris. When they reached the front door her heart felt heavy.

"Thank-you Chris, for tonight. I had a great time." She said awkwardly, thankful the face in the window had disappeared.

"I did too." Chris replied honestly.

Faith blushed and glanced at the ground with a shy gaze. Unable to help himself, Chris leaned down and placed a chaste kiss onto Faith's cheek. The skin immediately warmed and he pulled away with a crooked grin, only to find Faith's face alight with a dazzling smile. Not her usual tilt of lips or half-hearted half-smile- a true and bright smile.

"You should do that more often," Chris recommended with a smile of his own. True to his nature, he never kissed a girl on the first date but he hadn't been able to help it besides, it was only on the cheek.

"Do what?" Faith asked absently, brushing her fingers gently over the skin he had kissed.

"Smile," Chris supplied, not being able to help the slight swell of his ego at her cemented smile.

Almost realizing what she was doing, the smile began to falter but Chris touched her cheek.

"Don't stop," he insisted, "why are you afraid to smile?"

Faith merely looked at him, the crimson blush fading to pink before her cheeks returned to their usual pallid colour.

"I'm not afraid really. Just… reluctant."

"Why?"

"That is a remarkably annoying question." Faith commented, but her tone was light and friendly.

"You didn't answer it though." Chris pointed out.

Faith glanced at her watch and sighed, "Wow, ten o'clock, I better go inside before my father gets angry. Thank-you for tonight Chris," she paused, almost as if she were unsure of what to say to him, "it was amazing."

"It was," Chris agreed, "and maybe we can do it again sometime?"

The smile reappeared, even brighter then before, "I'd like that."

Chris watched her open the door before he caught her hand and teasingly brushed a kiss over her knuckles.

"Sorry, I always wanted to try that." He explained with a casual shrug, "I'm not going to forget that question though."

"I don't expect you to. Goodnight Chris." Faith said quietly, the smile still gracing her features.

"Goodnight Faith."

Faith stepped inside and gave Chris one last look at her smile before she closed the door silently.

* * *

Faith heard Chris's car disappear down the street and the smile on her lips fell slightly. Her mother and father rushed into the room, her mother looking excited and her father glaring suspiciously out of the window as though Chris would be coming back.

"So, how was it? Where did he take you?" Tanya gushed to her daughter.

"It was fine. He took me to an Italian restaurant. I'm tired, can I go to bed?"

Tanya noticed the sad look in her daughter's eyes; worry setting in, "Faith? Sweetie what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Faith muttered, hurt edging in her voice.

John immediately narrowed his eyes, "What did that boy do to you?" he demanded in a dangerously low tone.

Faith's eyes widened, "Nothing! Chris did NOTHING! It's what _I'm _going to do to him!"

"What is that sweetie?" Tanya asked, stroking her daughter's hair.

The black-haired teen pulled viciously out of her mother's reach, "Don't play stupid mom! You _know_ what is going to happen! I'm going to hurt him! He'll hate me when he finds out!"

Tanya stepped forward, "Faith, maybe he can help you."

"NO HE CAN'T! **NOBODY **CAN HELP ME! WE CAN'T JUST GET RID OF IT, WE HAVE TRIED, REMEMBER? WE HAVE TRIED _EVERY WAY_ AND IT IS STILL IN ME! **STOP** PRETENDING I AM NORMAL AND JUST **ACCEPT IT**! OF ALL PEOPLE, MY OWN **PARENTS** SHOULD ACCEPT IT!"

Tears now tracked the teenager's face, grief covered her features.

"I don't want to hurt him. I can't. I won't. He doesn't have to know."

John touched his daughter's shoulder, "Faith, he does need to know. You can't hide it forever and if he really cares about you, he will understand."

Faith just closed her eyes and shook her head repeatedly. She cared about Chris much more then she originally thought.

That would make things even harder.

* * *

Wyatt Matthew Halliwell, Twice-Blessed, prophesized icon of good magic was once again stretched across his younger brother's bed with another book in his grasp.

A car pulled into the drive and the front door opened barely a minute later. Voices carried up the stairs before thudding feet along the hall alerted Wyatt that Chris would soon be entering his room.

Chris pushed his door open and found his brother sprawled out on the covers clutching Twilight in his hands.

"This book is fascinating. Mind if I borrow it?" Wyatt asked, not looking up from the pages.

"Yes, I'm reading it."

"Well I am too."

"_I_ had it first." Chris shot back, tugging off his shoes and shedding his jacket.

"But _I_ have it _now_."

Chris rolled his eyes at his older brother's immaturity but sighed, "Go ahead Wyatt, I was re-reading it anyway."

"Figured you might be," Wyatt sighed, sitting up and book marking the page. Chris had a seriously large problem with people folding down the pages of his books (_It creases the pages, Wyatt_!)

"So," Wyatt said conversationally, "where'd you take her?"

"Salizzoni's." Chris replied, rummaging through his drawers to find his pajamas.

"Ah. Italian. And?" Wyatt prompted.

"And what?"

"Did you kiss her?"

"On the cheek."

"We are not related."

"I can live with that."

Chris dodged the pillow and turned around to face his older brother.

"Wyatt I don't kiss girls on first dates, that's just the way I am."

Wyatt sighed and stretched his arms above his head, his muscles flexing under his white pajama shirt.

"Fair enough. But please, please, PLEASE tell me you asked her out again? I have seen the way you look at her and I approve."

"I don't need your approval for the girls I date, Wy." Chris told him as he ducked into his walk-in to change. Re-emerging in his usual pajama bottoms and shirt, the five-foot-nine brunette focused his green gaze on his older brother.

"I know you don't but I am just saying that Faith seems like an alright girl and I promise you I will not interfere with your relationship."

"Thank-you."

"Except for the customary big-brother embarrassment." Wyatt finished with a Cheshire cat grin.

The six-foot-two, blond haired boy stood up and patted his brother on the back before whacking him around the back of the head.

"THAT is for waiting so long to make a move."

With Twilight safely in his hands the blond exited the room and left his baby brother alone to contemplate his thoughts.

Chris smiled to himself when he pulled up the covers of his bed, sinking into the soft mattress. He hadn't felt this happy in a long time and he had never seen Faith so happy. Even though tonight had been amazing- something was still nagging in the back of his brain and gnawing at his stomach.

There was something different about Faith.

But what?

* * *

**A/N- Okay so there is Chris and Faith's first date and another light is shed on Faith's secret. Thanks so much for all the reviews I got for the last chapter! Any chance I could get five or more for this one? Anyway thanks for reading and the next chapter should be up sometime soon. It will have a demon, a party and an interesting conversation between two people. I do not own Charmed (wish I did though)**


	8. Chapter 8

Saturday morning Chris awoke with a smile plastered across his handsome features. Today, he felt, was going to be amazing. After a shower and a change of clothes the seventeen year old made his way into the kitchen, following the scent of bacon and eggs. Piper saw her son out of the corner of her eye and smiled.

"Morning Peanut. Hungry?"

"Starved."

A plate landed in front of him and Chris grinned. True to her nature, his mother had piled his plate high with bacon, eggs and pancakes on the side. Pouring himself some orange juice, Chris drowned his pancakes in maple syrup and began to devour his plate of food. Wyatt stumbled down the stairs, bleary eyed and tousle-haired having fallen asleep on a pile of textbooks. The ritual brotherly insult throwing occurred followed by Piper's motherly reprimands before Wyatt slumped into his chair and stretched his arms high above his head and then proceeding to consume an army-like quantity of food.

"Don't you have an apartment?" Chris teased good-naturedly passing his brother the orange juice, watching his brother successfully swallow approximately three cups.

"That I do baby brother but I miss my old room and there was no way I was waiting forever to hear about your date."

Piper's ears perked at the word 'date' but she continued her washing as though she wasn't listening. Chris usually didn't give details about his dates to anyone but Wyatt, not even Harry was informed of anything that happened. Her baby boy was a very private person- something she had known to expect from his older time-traveling self. It didn't bother her that she had no clue what her baby boy's love life was like; it was simply nice to know how her sons were doing in the relationship department.

Thudding on the stairs alerted the occupants of the kitchen to Leo's presence before his face appeared in the doorway.

"Morning honey." He greeted his wife with a gentle kiss.

Chris rolled his eyes and sighed, "My date was fine Wyatt I told you that last night."

"No, last night you were vague. I want details."

"You can want. Pass the syrup."

Leo smiled proudly at his sons despite the banter, he was happy that they lived relatively normal lives. A jingle from over his head sounded and he sighed.

"It's the Elders, they sound panicked."

Piper's brow creased but she tightened her lips. She didn't approve of the Elders calling during meals and that had been one of the agreements when her husband had been re-instated- that they didn't call unless it was a dire emergency.

"Go." She insisted after a pause, "it must be important if they are risking their Elderly Asses to call for you now."

Leo disappeared in a cloud of lights leaving Piper to continue her cleaning while listening to her two sons bicker about Chris's date. Smiling to herself, she cast her mind back to when they had been little boys. Even then things had been hectic, as having two boys with the ability to orb to Tahiti when they were grounded would be. From orbing out to see concerts across the country –or out of the country- to a rather interesting incident involving missing clothes from the girl's locker room (Wyatt still denied it was him)

Watching her boys grow up had been one of most wondrous yet heartbreaking experiences of her life. And now here they were, growing into fine young men. A small tear dripped down her cheek at the thought and she sniffed quietly.

Apparently not quietly enough.

"Mom?" Wyatt asked worriedly, abandoning his attempt at getting Chris to give details.

"What's wrong?" Chris questioned as he stood up and walked over to her, Wyatt shadowing his movements.

"You're all grown up. Both of you." She whispered shakily. Without any warning she seized Chris in a rib-breaking hug while her son awkwardly patted her back. After letting Chris go and giving him a weak smile she roughly pulled her eldest son into a similar embrace. When she pulled back she beamed at them proudly and sniffed again before turning back to her cleaning.

The brothers exchanged identical glances before white/blue sparkles coalesced into the form of their father. His features were set in a somber emotion.

"A witch was murdered last night, the Elders suspect the Halex demons again."

Chris's stomach twisted and he saw Piper give him a glance and Wyatt turned his eyes on Chris. Leo noticed the looks shared between them and frowned.

"What?"

"When?" Chris demand to know.

Leo was momentarily shocked at his son's forwardness but answered the question all the same, "Around eleven pm. The man's whitelighter said he heard a jingle at around eleven but it was minor and didn't come again so he let it be. When he went to check an hour later… he had passed."

Eleven.

Faith had been home then.

Wyatt noticed his baby brother's uneasy shift but kept his striking blue gaze on his father.

"Do they have any proof it was the Halex demons?"

"Well…no. But they are our most likely candidates. It fits their M.O. Male, late teens early twenties. He fought back though so he mustn't have been caught by surprise."

Chris was quiet and he pushed the thoughts of Faith out of his head. He knew the girl he went out with last night. He knew she would never- could never do something like that. He had danced with her and she had told him more then he guessed she had told anyone before. She had smiled for him. A true smile.

She wouldn't.

Piper watched Chris calmly look up and into his father's eyes.

"Do the Elders have any ideas on how to get rid of these demons? I mean, we tried the potion in the Book but it didn't work."

Leo launched into his explanation, "We killed a few but the Halex demon population is in the thousands. Hundreds of thousands even so… if we can't kill them all we have to wait until they move on."

"But that creates more victims. Maybe Chris and I could try our powers on it?" Wyatt pointed out to his father.

Piper wiped her hands dry angrily as the tears clouded her vision through the conversation. She gently touched her husband's shoulder, "Leo I don't want the boys involved in this- they could get hurt."

"MOM!" Both began to protest but Piper's sharp glare silence them immediately.

"NO! I WILL NOT PUT MY BOYS IN ANY DANGER! I CAN'T LOSE YOU! NOT…NOT AGAIN." At her last words her eyes fell to Chris, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Wyatt noticed and guilt filled his chest.

Three years ago Chris had begun having strange dreams about himself… but a different version. One from a different future. After several weeks of telling only Wyatt Chris confronted his parents and they had told him everything. Wyatt had locked himself away in his room afterwards and refused to come out until Chris had coaxed him out by telling him everyone knew that Wyatt wasn't evil. But despite knowing for three years- it still had become no easier.

"Okay." Chris agreed reluctantly.

Silence screamed in their ears, an odd thing to happen in the manor. Chris glanced at the clock and sighed.

"The guys will be here soon anyway."

Piper smiled half-heartedly and turned back to her cleaning, "Where are you going?"

"Movies. To see that new movie with the…thing in it." He said vaguely.

Piper smiled, "Sounds interesting when do they get here?"

Several thuds on the door answered her question and her youngest headed to answer it. Voices carried into the kitchen before a small group of kids appeared in the room. Mary shyly said hello and Emmalee waved while the boys gave Wyatt punches on the arm.

"Hey Chris we wanted to know if Faith could come, seeing as all of us going makes you dateless." Harry asked loudly.

Emmalee punched his arm, "What Harry is _trying_ to say," she glared at the shaggy haired boy and then smiled, "is that if you wanted to invite Faith she is welcome. Besides, Mary and I want date details!"

Chris smiled brightly and Wyatt rolled his eyes.

"I'll call her, hang on."

He grabbed the phone and dialed the number, listening to the ringing in his ear. There was a click and a male answered.

"Hello, Cullen residence this is John speaking." He said calmly.

"Hello sir, it's Chris, I was wondering if Faith was there?" Chris replied politely, knowing that Faith's father would not be open to improper phone manners.

"It's _you_ boy," he snarled as only a protective father would, "Well she is here but unfortunately she's not feeling her best at the moment."

"Is she okay?" Chris asked worriedly without thinking. All eyes automatically went to Chris and Emmalee tried to snatch the phone away to hear the conversation.

An irritable sigh came from Faith's father and he coughed, "She has a fever and a migraine boy so, unfortunately, whatever you had planned will have to wait. I am sure she will have her deepest apologies for you when you next see her."

"Okay, tell her I hope she gets better soon. Goodbye sir."

"Goodbye boy."

The call disconnected and Chris hung up, replacing the phone and awaiting the inevitable questioning.

Emmalee was the first to start, grabbing Chris by the shoulders (having to reach to do so as her five-foot-three self did not match his five-nine height.) Chris was the shortest male of his group but, according to his mother, would reach at least six feet in the coming years.

"What's wrong with Faith? Is she okay? Is she hurt?"

"Migraines and fever." Chris replied emotionlessly, looking nervously at Wyatt for a brief second.

Emmalee sighed, "That's going around too. The fever anyway, my mom caught it last week. Poor Faith, she seems to be getting sick a lot lately."

"Yeah," Chris murmured quietly to himself, "yeah she does."

* * *

The movie theatre was packed to capacity, couples cuddled up close as the main protagonists professed their undying love for one another. Chris glared sourly into his popcorn while attempting to ignore the smooching noises from behind him that was Harry and Carolyn. Emmalee and Ben were whispering to each other while Mary and Jackson held hands and leant against one another. He had agreed to go to the movie with them anyway, despite being dateless. He wasn't paying that much attention to it anyway. It was all the same.

Girl falls in love with boy; boy falls in love with girl. Girl is captured so boy goes to rescue her. Insert several scantily clad women trying to seduce the boy away and then a climatic reunion of the two lovebirds. But then a plot twist occurs; the girl is actually an undercover spy working against him because _he_ is undercover spy for an enemy organization so they can never be together. Then boy is assisted by yet ANOTHER female and they have to destroy the original girl so she doesn't expose any top-secret information to her spy organization. While doing so, the two fall madly in love before professing their undying love for each other.

Chris was going to be violently ill.

He would rather sit through another of his Aunt's screenings of _'Kill it Before it Dies'_

Twice.

But his thoughts were on Faith. Fevers could appear overnight, as could migraines. Maybe she was genuinely sick, maybe she was resting at home in bed.

But maybe wasn't definite.

A moan came from behind him and he screwed up his eyes. Leaning over to Ben he nudged him and whispered his goodbye.

"Sorry man, I know this must be kind of awkward." Ben apologized, indicating the screen and the couples.

"No, not at all." Chris lied, "I just need to get back to the manor."

"Okay. Later Chris." Ben whispered as Emmalee leaned against him and sighed happily.

Chris hurried out of the theatre and was eternally grateful when the harsh daylight dazzled his eyes. He headed to the bathrooms and found an empty stall. Checking to make sure he was alone, the brunette orbed away. When he reappeared in the living room of the manor his older brother was sprawled across the couch with his feet dangling over the edge of the arm rests. A remote was in his hand and flipping through channel after channel.

"Over already?" Wyatt asked his brother, not looking away from the television set.

"Got boring. I was going to be ill."

"Chick flick?" Wyatt guessed as he sat up and beckoned his baby brother over.

"Yep. That is the last time I go to the movies as an extra wheel."

Wyatt patted his brother's shoulder sympathetically and sighed, "So, do you _really_ think Faith was sick today?"

Chris crossed his arms and shrugged, "Maybe. I don't know. It has been going around so I guess it is plausible that she caught it from someone somewhere. I just…Wyatt she isn't evil. Part of me just knows it."

"And I trust your judgment Chris," Wyatt told him seriously, "But you are still my little brother and if she turns out to be a demon… we have a duty, Chris."

"I know. I just think our paranoia is making us see what we want to see." Chris explained.

Wyatt nodded slowly and stood up, heading for the kitchen and drinking straight fro the orange juice carton.

"I agree, now, want to shoot some hoops? Or are you too afraid of being shown up" _Again_." He taunted his little brother.

Chris's face broke into a grin at his older brother's attempt at cheering him up. No matter what, Chris could always count on Wyatt.

"Me getting shown up?" he replied, taking the bait, "I think you have it backwards there. _Tinkerbelle_."

Wyatt's cheeks colored and he pointed his finger at the now smug brunette, "ONE unfortunate school play and you will not drop it? I had to play a fairy ONCE! And I was Fairy KING!"

"Tinkerbelle." Chris taunted in a way only a brother could get away with.

"That's it. You're going down Momma's Boy!" Wyatt snarled.

* * *

Monday arrived far too soon and Chris once again found himself strolling through the doors of Baker High. As he rounded a corner he saw Faith closing her locker door and slinging a bag over her shoulder.

"Hey!" he called out to her. She looked up at him and her lips began to form into a smile before she forced it down and masked her face into a blank stare.

"Good morning Chris. How was your weekend?" she asked politely.

"Great," he replied with a smile, "Are you feeling better?"

"Better?" she asked, confusion evident on her features.

"From Saturday? Your dad said you weren't feeling well."

Her eyes widened and her lisp formed an 'o' shape, "Oh! Yes, I'm feeling much better. Thank-you for asking Chris it as very kind of you. Now, I am sorry to have to leave but I need to see Mr. Munroe about using the art room."

"Okay." Chris replied, sensing something was off about her. Her reaction to his question had sent alarm bells ringing. Maybe she hadn't been sick and her father was just covering for her. Maybe-

He stopped his train of thought there. He _wasn't_ suspicious. His mind was seeing what it wanted to see.

"Goodbye Chris." She whispered.

"See you at lunch?" he asked her as she headed off down the hall.

Casting a look over her shoulder her lips tilted at the edges again.

"Maybe."

She rounded a corner and disappeared from view just as Harry came careening around the corner and slammed into Chris.

"Hey man I need to copy your answers for that history homework we had…"

Harry's voice faded into a distant chatter as Chris's mind wandered away.

Something was different now.

But what was it?

* * *

At lunch period, Faith wasn't at the table when Chris sat down in his usual chair. He thought nothing of it, guessing she had been held back or slowed down on her way, until Emmalee slammed her tray onto the table and eyed him suspiciously.

"What did you do?" she accused, pointing her cutlery at him threateningly.

"What do you mean?" Chris protested as he eyed the dangerously swinging utensils.

Mary and Jackson slid into their seats shortly followed by Harry with Benjamin bringing up the rear and looking his girlfriend up and down.

"Uh? Em? Why are you threatening Chris with a plastic knife?"

"Because he did something to Faith!" she indicted.

"WHAT!" Chris shouted, clearly confused, "Where did you get that idea! I didn't do anything!"

Emmalee gritted her teeth and huffed but dropped her cutlery onto her plate, "Well then why is she sitting by herself again!?"

Shocked, Chris glanced over in the direction Emmalee was pointing and found Faith sitting alone at a table across the cafeteria in the corner. Several people passed her by without a second glance but Faith had her nose buried in a thick book and didn't notice. A brown paper bag sat beside her while she absently pulled small bunches of grapes from within it.

"I… I don't know." Chris stammered. Had he done something to make her angry? She had been happy when he left her Friday night and this morning they had gotten on fine.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Emmalee snapped angrily, "She was sitting with us Friday and then you and her go out and she is sitting by herself again. WHAT. DID. YOU DO?"

"NOTHING!"

Their argument was beginning to attract some attention from around them so Ben gently touched his girlfriend's shoulder.

"Emmalee maybe she just wanted some time alone? You used to go off and sit by yourself some days." Ben reasoned with her.

The withering stare she was using on Chris dimmed slightly but she promptly turned her head away from him and began to new conversation with Mary, who shot Chris an apologetic glance. Meanwhile, Ben, Jackson and Harry slid their trays towards Chris and leaned in.

"Dude," Ben began hurriedly, "You didn't do anything, right?"

Chris kept his eyes on Faith as she removed another grape from the bag and popped it into her mouth before calmly turning the page.

"I…I don't think so."

"Go and see." Harry urged his friend, nudging him slightly.

Chris stood up and weaved his way through the crowded cafeteria until he reached Faith's table. He paused before her and she glanced up before glancing down quickly.

"Hey." He said slowly as he slid in across from her.

She stubbornly kept her eyes on the novel in her hands (A Bend In The Road- Nicholas Sparks) but offered him a soft, "Hello."

"Listen, did I…do something the other night?"

Faith looked at him silently before she shook her head.

"No. You didn't."

"Then why are you sitting over here? Emmalee is giving me the cold shoulder because she thinks I did something." Chris asked. He saw Faith shift and flinch slightly before momentarily touching her arm.

"What's wrong?" he queried immediately.

"Nothing serious. I…I fell."

Chris knew she was lying but once again dropped the subject.

"So, why don't you come and sit with us?" he suggested.

"I just want to sit by myself today." She stated bluntly, "I'm sorry but… I just want to. Goodbye Chris."

With those parting words she rose gracefully and disappeared out the swinging doors of the cafeteria, leaving Chris sitting alone. He stood slowly before dragging himself back to his table. Everyone immediately began to question but he ignored them in favour of stabbing his carrots moodily. Faith had hurt her arm. He wasn't going to deny that there was some evidence of demonic activity in that after the witch killed on Friday.

Obviously realizing that Chris was not going to say anything everyone returned to their food until Carolyn sashayed over and perched herself on Harry's lap.

"Hey baby." She greeted before planting a firm kiss on his lips.

When she pulled back she tossed her hair and smiled at Chris.

"So I guess Joy was right! It doesn't really shock me because even _you_ have enough sense to realize when something is _totally wrong_."

Her seashell pink nails snapped open her compact and she began to critically inspect her reflection, pouting her lips and dabbing at her nose.

"Joy was right about what?" Chris asked darkly. Anything Joy said could never be good.

Still playing Narcissus, Carolyn removed a tube of lipstick and slid the waxy substance around her lips.

"She was telling everyone on Friday that after your date with the Cullen freak you would realize how much of a loser she is and dump her. That's why she was sitting alone today- you came to your senses right?"

Silence blanketed the small table and Chris clenched his teeth. He had never lashed out with his powers in public before but the tell-tale wobbling of the salt and pepper shakers was enough to warn him that if he didn't get himself under control soon there would be some cleaning up to be done.

"No." he ground out through gritted teeth, "Faith just wanted to sit by herself. She is not a freak. She is not a loser. Faith has more substance then you and your pathetic group of Joy following bimbos put together."

Carolyn gasped and tossed her hair, "Harry? Baby, are you going to let him speak to me like that?"

Harry looked at Chris and then to Carolyn, "Actually Carolyn, yeah. You deserve it. You can't talk about Faith like that I mean, you don't even know her."

"Neither do you!" she screeched.

Harry shrugged, "But Chris seems to think she is pretty cool and I've seen her a bit and she seems cool!"

Carolyn huffed and slid off his lap, "Well then maybe you should date **her**! Oh, wait! You're with me!"

Harry shook his head, "Not anymore Carolyn. You can't like my friends- we can't be together. Sorry."

Carolyn's face turned white, then green, then a nasty shade of red.

"YOU'RE BREAKING UP WITH ME? YOU **CAN'T **BREAK UP WITH **ME**!"

By now there was a group of teenagers whispering to each other, casting their gaze to the furious brunette.

"I just did Carolyn. I'm sorry, but badmouthing my friends is past the line." Harry shrugged before turning to his carrots and shoveling them into his mouth.

Carolyn gaped soundlessly before she gave a shrill scream and stormed out of the cafeteria with a few claps and whistles in her wake. At the table, Mary tried to hide her smile while Emmalee outright grinned.

"About damn time Harry. I was ready to slap that bitc-"

"I'm going outside." Chris mumbled emotionlessly, cutting off Emmalee's remark.

Nobody tried to stop the brunette as he rose and left his tray before heading out the doors and slumping at the base of a tree.

He liked Faith.

He wouldn't deny. He _couldn't_ deny that. But she could be a demon.

"Aunt Phoebe made it work for a little bit." He said to himself.

"And look how that worked out in the end." He mumbled bitterly in reply.

The bell sounded and the teenagers around him began to file into their classes. Chris slid into his usual seat in English, casting a quick glance around the room.

No Faith.

Class began and twenty minutes into the lesson Faith appeared in the doorway with her books cradled in her right arm along with a small blue slip.

"Nice of you to join us." Miss Melville stated.

Faith mumbled her apology and handed the blue pass to the teacher. Chris watched them silently. Different colour passes were issued to students by the office staff according to what they had been late for. Green was a principal meeting, red was a detention run late, pink was issued to those in the sick bay and a blue slip was for an off-campus arrangement. Faith had been off-campus.

But doing what?

Only two seats were left in the packed class. One was situated in the back, nestled in the corner were nobody would pass a second glance. The second was beside Chris himself, towards the middle of the classroom.

Chris wasn't sure if he was surprised or not when Faith headed directly to the back without giving him so much as a second glance.

Something told him it was going to be a long week.

* * *

Faith wasn't at school the next day, or the next day, or the day after that. When Friday arrived Chris wandered into the halls and found Faith opening her locker to add in her books. As she placed her sketchbook into the locker a loose page floated to the ground, unnoticed by the green-eyed girl. Adding two large books to her stack, Faith slammed her locker door and headed in the opposite direction as Chris, having not seen him.

Wasting no time the brunette darted forward and inspected the paper. It was a sketch of Joy's lunch table.

Only better.

Every person at the table had something about them accentuated to the point of hilarity. The uptight jock's muscles bulged out of their sleeves, veins rippling along their arms. Carolyn had always complained about her nose being too crooked and this sketch depicted her with a large, hooked nose about the size of half her face. Several over-exaggerated flaws were scattered across the page ranging from horns and tails to 'overly manly shoulders'. But Joy was the obvious centerpiece.

With her head several times larger then her body, Joy's face was disfigured and hideous. Her nails arched in long claws painted crimson and dark wings protruded from her back.

A slogan was scratched into the top of the page in Faith's familiar scrawl.

'_Perfection is overrated.'_

Folding the paper into a small wedge he placed it into his pocket and headed away.

That day was much the same as Monday, only he didn't even _see_ Faith at lunch. As it turned out she had been in the art room all lunch. When the final dismissal bell rang everyone poured out the doors in a rush as they discussed weekend plans. Beach, movies, date, family reunion were some of the snippets Chris caught.

Birthday Party for youngest cousin and studying was on his list. He planned to study on Saturday and then go to Pandora's birthday family dinner and study on Sunday. He didn't really need to study but going out of the house did not appeal to him at all. He just wanted to stay indoors.

His baby was waiting faithfully for him in the student parking lot. Putting the key into the ignition he drove out of the school grounds without noticing the petite green-eyed girl staring at him sadly from the wooden bench outside the school doors.

* * *

"Okay, jumping castle?" Phoebe read off her list loudly.

"Check!" Piper smiled from behind the counter as she pulled the large cake out of the oven, "called this morning and they said they would deliver it tomorrow at nine am and set it up before the party."

The two sisters were busy finalizing the last details of Dora's seventh birthday party tomorrow. Phoebe planned to go all-out for this one.

"Perfect. Now, I have hired a face painter who should show up about ten minutes before the party."

Piper smiled and began to prepare the icing for the cake.

"So, the cake for Dora's friend party is all finished and the family one is cooling. Now, Wyatt said he can help out tomorrow but Chris has some studying to do. He will, however, be at the dinner that night."

Phoebe nodded, "Perfect. Now, I have to go but will I see you tomorrow?"

Piper smiled, "At dinner but unfortunately I won't be at the party. The restaurant is swamped at the moment."

"No worries, Paige is busy too and Henry has to work; the kids are at their weekend activities anyhow and Mel and Patty are bailing out of the party so we will all be together at dinner."

"Perfect." Piper smiled at her youngest sister, "You can pick up the cakes tomorrow. Give Dora the kids a hug for me?"

"Will do. Bye Piper!"

Phoebe left the manor and jumped into her car before pulling down the driveway and smiling to herself.

Tomorrow was her youngest girl's seventh birthday party. Everything was going to be perfect.

* * *

"EVERYTHING IS A DISATER!"

Coop rubbed his wife's arms soothingly as he eyed the disarray caused by the demon. Trays of cookies were scattered across the floor and decorations lay in smoking piles of ash.

"Let the object of objection become but a dream as I cause this scene to be unseen." Phoebe recited through gritted teeth, her calmness restoring when she watched everything return to its rightful space. Guests would be arriving in ten minutes and Dora was already restless. Her fairy wings were trailing glitter from one end of the house to the other and her pink feather dress seemed to be molting with every step she took.

The doorbell rang and Coop headed to answer it. Phoebe heard him come back inside and she turned to give the face painter instructions when she stopped and smiled.

"Faith! Hello! I didn't know you were our face painter!"

Faith stood awkwardly in the center of the room, anxiously biting her nails.

"Neither did I," Faith admitted, "So, I take it this is for Dora?"

As if on cue the girl of the day strolled in and gazed up at Faith in wonder.

"You're the pretty fairy." She smiled before waving her jeweled wand at her.

"Thank-you. And you are the birthday girl I assume?"

"YEP! I'm seven!" she said proudly.

Faith tilted her lips and sighed, "Well, for the birthday girl I suppose she deserves something special. If it is okay with her parents of course?"

Coop nodded encouragingly while Faith rummaged around in her shoulder bag. After a few seconds she produced a worn-looking sketchbook and she began to flick through the pages.

"Ah ha! Here we are!"

Coop, Phoebe and Pandora watched as Faith concentrated on the picture before her until several multicolored butterflies began to flutter around Dora, perching on her hand and nose, much to the delight of the girl.

"Happy Birthday Pandora." Faith laughed. She stood up to her regular height and turned her complete attention to Coop and Phoebe. "Now, where would you like me to set up?"

Phoebe swung into party planner mode and began to show Faith where to set up and instructing her of anything she would need to know. Ten minutes later the doorbell rang and one by one, seven year olds and their parents began to filter into the backyard.

"Let's get this party started." Coop mumbled to himself before heading out to the backyard.

One hour into the party Wyatt orbed into the house and headed downstairs to find his Aunt and Uncle zigzagging about.

"Need help?" he offered.

"Tag. Outside. Supervise." Was the clipped reply he received from his Aunt.

As Wyatt was heading out to supervise a game of Tag, a miniature ball of hyperactive energy slammed into his legs, wrapping its arms around him.

"WYATT!" It exclaimed happily, which alerted him that it was in fact his cousin Dora.

She was wearing a fuzzy pink tiara and her face was painted with a beautiful butterfly, colours brightly streaking across her face. Wyatt had noticed nearly every party guest supporting exquisitely done face paint. When he saw Faith painting a large lion face on a young boy he narrowed his eyes. He knew all about what had happened at school all week and now he was personally ready to have some words with her. But not here. Not now while his littlest cousin gazed up at him with adoring eyes.

Kissing the top of Dora's head and knelt down in front of her.

"Hey there Dora, liking your party?" he asked with a big grin. Wyatt would not admit it under pain of torture, but he had a very soft spot for all of his cousins, Dora especially as the baby.

"I LOVE IT!" she squealed happily, her brown eyes alight with girlish glee.

She peered around momentarily before her smile slipped, "Where's Chris?"

"At home Dora, he wanted me to tell you he was sorry he couldn't come but he will be at your family party tonight, okay?"

Her smile brightened again and she bared her teeth, the gap in the front making her smile even more adorable, "OKAY! BYE WYATT!"

Dora skipped off, pigtails bouncing, to join in the game of Tag.

* * *

The party was coming to a close and parents were beginning to pick up their children, grabbing party bags from his Aunt Phoebe as they left the backyard. Wyatt was stacking chairs and picking up papers when he heard two small thuds and a groan. He raised his head to find Faith picking up two pots of paint that had fallen from her art table. She was obviously packing up her supplies. Or what was left of them.

Every child at the party had insisted on a face painting, Wyatt had noticed. The queue for one had grown until there were only a handful of children actually playing games at one point.

Without thinking he headed for the table, stopping in front of her and sitting in the seat before her.

"Can I have one?" he asked calmly, not wanting her to think he was going to get angry.

"Sure." Faith replied with a small tilt of her lips, "Any requests?"

"Surprise me."

Faith removed her supplies and squirted a small amount of moisturizer onto Wyatt's cheek.

"So," he began conversationally as soon as she began to work, "How was the date?"

Faith's brush stopped before Wyatt's cheek and she sighed, "Fine."

"Huh. Because a little bird told me that you ignored my brother this week. If the date was so 'fine' why did you do it?"

Faith applied the first colour silently, dipping her head to cover the blush of shame on her features.

"Because I did. Chris dating me would be a bad idea."

"Why?" Wyatt pressed.

"Because it would be."

"Why?"

"Because I said so!" Faith snapped angrily, her eyes narrowing when she looked up.

Wyatt closed his moth and allowed her to work. Hi silence lasted several tense minutes before he couldn't help but speak.

"Don't hurt my brother Faith."

"I'm trying not to." She said without thinking.

Wyatt caught her hurried reply and raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. I just think Chris would be better off without me hanging around him. You're finished, I hope you like it."

Faith stood up quickly and headed over to the door. Phoebe caught her arm and held out the money but Faith shook her head. Wyatt caught snatches of the conversation from his position.

"You earned it Faith, it was an amazing party."

"Honestly, I really only do this for the art. I don't need the money. Buy Dora a birthday gift for me with it if you like. Thank-you Mrs. Halliwell. Goodbye."

Faith ducked away quickly and jumped into her car before disappearing down the driveway. Phoebe looked over to Wyatt and crossed her arms as she headed over.

"What was that all about?"

"She has been ignoring Chris all week. Figured I would ask why." Wyatt replied before he began to collect scattered pieces of streamers and balloons.

"What do you mean? I thought they had a date last week?"

"They did. The next day she was 'sick'" Wyatt air-quoted, "and then on Monday apparently she sat by herself at lunch before she ditched school until Friday when she ignored him completely."

"Oh." Was the only word Phoebe could manage. Her eyes turned to her husband, who avoided her glance and began to busy himself with the trash.

"Well, sweetie, maybe she just needs some time? And you need to let Chris and Faith work it out themselves; do you remember how angry you were when he meddled with you and Andrea?"

Andrea Lawyer had been Wyatt's first long-term relationship and Chris had been convinced she was two-timing him and had confronted her. Wyatt had been furious when he found out and had completely blocked his brother out for two weeks.

"Okay but…he's my brother Aunt Phoebe-"

"But he is also his own person. He needs to work it out alone. Now, thank-you for coming to her party to supervise and I will see you tonight okay?"

Wyatt nodded and looked around for his Uncle and cousin to say goodbye when a small titter of laughter passed through his Aunt's lips.

"What?"

"Nice face painting. I take it you had no say in what it was?" his Aunt laughed behind her hand.

Wyatt had forgotten about his face painting and he recalled telling Faith to 'surprise him.' The blond moved inside and glanced at the picture painted innocently on his cheek. A large pink heart surrounded by a rainbow decorated his cheeks with the words 'blonds have more fun' in white.

He shook his head and gave his Uncle a wave and his little cousin a big hug before he orbed away and back to the Manor.

Once the blue sparkles had disappeared, Phoebe turned to her husband and raised an eyebrow.

"You know something don't you? About Faith and Chris?"

Coop sighed and raked a hand through his hair, "Phoebe, love, you _know_ I want to tell you these things but I can't. Yes, I know what is going on, but not details. I know Faith is feeling some things that are making her pull away but that is all I know and it is all I can tell you okay?"

Phoebe nodded slowly before kissing her husband softly and smiling weakly.

"I would just hate to see my little nephew hurt."

Coop watched her walk towards their ever-smiling daughter and swoop her up into her arms.

"So would I." He whispered to himself before glancing down at his ring.

* * *

The persistent ringing of the telephone interrupted Piper's intense concentration on her pasta sauce for the evening. With an exasperated sigh she stirred the sauce again before throwing in several ingredients. Tonight was Dora's family celebration so Piper was cooking her favourite meal.

"Chris? Peanut could you get that for me?"

No sound came from the living room so Piper assumed he had gone to his room. With another sigh the mother of two hurried to the phone and picked it up.

"Hello, Halliwell residence Piper speaking." She answered formally. Sometimes clients found out that by calling the manor they could usually actually get a chance to talk to Piper, so she was frequently answering the phone as though she were working. She really needed to get a private number.

The other end was silent briefly and Piper considered hanging up in case it was another idiotic prank call. Juts as she was debating giving them a mouthful before throwing the phone back down a voice she recognized replied.

"Hello Piper…it's Faith Cullen. I um, I was wondering if Chris was there?"

Piper heard her son wander down the steps and she motioned him to stop. She had heard about the 'Faith issue' when Chris and Wyatt had gotten into an argument over Wyatt's little talk with her at Pandora's party a few hours ago. Chris had stormed off to his room after screaming at Wyatt that he didn't need his older brother standing up for him against a girl. Wyatt had then proceeded to orb away without saying goodbye. Chris halted in his steps and eyed his mother curiously.

"Well, Faith," at the name Chris's eyes widened, "I am not sure if Chris is here. Let me check. Could you hold on just for one moment?"

Piper cupped her hand to the phone and stared at her youngest son.

"You want to talk to her?" she asked quietly.

Weighing the idea Chris nodded finally and Piper removed her hand, "He is here Faith, let me just pass you over to him."

She passed the phone to Chris and he held it up to his ear, "Hey Faith."

That was all Piper heard of the conversation before she backed out of the room to give her son some privacy. Meanwhile, Chris headed up the stairs and sprawled across his bed while he listened to Faith talk.

"Hello Chris. I am calling because I wanted to apologize for what I did to you on Monday and for Friday. I am really, really, really sorry and I guess I owe you an explanation."

"I'm listening." Chris said evenly.

There was a small intake of breath before Faith ploughed into her explanation.

"I panicked. After you left I thought that maybe you would think I was weird and you wouldn't want to talk to me ever again and I just…panicked. And then I saw you on Monday and it hit me that-"

She abruptly cut off and Chris could almost see her biting down on her lip and praying he hadn't caught her last few words.

"What hit you?"

"That you have so many friends. And even people who aren't your friends notice you. The last thing you need is a little miss nobody dragging you down."

There were no words Chris could say. All he could think was 'How? Why? Why would she think that?' but the words weren't making it out of his mouth.

"Faith." He finally managed to say, "What gives you the idea that you are dragging me down? I like you, I _really_ like you and I don't care what people think if I do."

He heard Faith's breathing but she kept silent.

"Faith? Please tell me what's wrong." He begged.

"I'm afraid." She admitted, "I'm afraid that one day you will wake up to yourself and realize that… I'm… me."

"But I _like_ you." He reminded her, "And I like that you are you. You don't try to be anybody else and that is what makes you perfect."

Faith was silent for a very long time once Chris had finished speaking, the sound of her breathing all Chris could hear over the phone.

"Faith?" he said uneasily, worried he may have said something too early.

"I'm not perfect Chris." She said finally in a cracking voice.

"Why not?"

"I'm not perfect Chris. I can't tell you why but just know that I am far…far from perfect. I'm sorry that I can't tell you why."

"Will you tell me one day?" Chris asked curiously.

There was a soft laugh on the other end before Faith's reply came, "Maybe one day. But how about tomorrow night at six-thirty I take you somewhere?" her words were forward but her voice was soft and shy again, like she was afraid of his answer. Chris couldn't help but notice she had changed the subject away from herself.

Deciding to ease her obvious nervousness and go along with the change, Chris chuckled, "Are you asking me out Miss Cullen?"

Her sigh was audible and she slipped back into the comfortable skin she had around him, something he was sure he was one of the few people to see. "Why yes Mr. Halliwell I do believe I am. Six thirty. I'll pick you up, dress casually because where we're going isn't that fancy. And we'll have dinner there."

"Okay. Six thirty tomorrow. Do I get a hint as to where we are going?"

"Nope. Goodnight Chris."

The phone disconnected with a click and Chris remained motionless for a few moments despite hearing only the dial tone. A smile touched at his lips and he hung up the phone before heading down the stair with an obvious air of happiness.

* * *

Faith could have shot herself for being so stupid.

She'd asked Chris out. After trying so hard to avoid him, to keep from having to hurt him she had gone and put him right in the line of hurt. Her hands trembled as she reached for the phone again. There was one more call she had to make tonight. She carefully dialed the number she knew perfectly, the number that had been drilled into her head since she had found out she was…like this.

"Hello? It's Faith… it's working perfectly." She spoke quickly, wanting the call to be over.

" No, there is no need; I don't need assistance. I'm perfectly capable of doing it on my own." She replied to the voice on the other end.

"Wednesday, four thirty- got it. Goodnight."

The call disconnected and she sighed heavily, glancing down at her notebook. Several sketches were roughly scrawled on the lined paper. Assorted animals and flowers, several magical symbols and a random pattern or two decorated the page and a few words were inked in her untidy handwriting.

'_Book of Shadows in the Attic.'_

* * *

**A/N- and here we have another chapter and another glance at what Faith might be! I love hearing your thoughts and ideas so please drop a review for me so I can know what you think about my story! Sorry this chapter took longer then usual but I have to attend an evil place where I get my education. Thanks to the reviewers for the last chapter and I am really sorry about my extreme lack of replying skills! Sorry! And finally, I realized that I made a mistake with the ages as I was going by the school times where I live so Chris and Faith are actually seventeen at the moment, not eighteen. I fixed it so it should be okay now.**


	9. Chapter 9

If looks could kill, the clock on the mantle would be long dead.

Had it stopped? Or was it just moving slower because Chris was glancing at it every two seconds?

Wyatt watched with amusement as his brother pace back and forth in front of him. For the past half an hour his younger brother had been continuously glancing at the clock and muttering to himself.

"She will show up. She said six thirty and it is twenty-eight past. She will be here soon so relax." Wyatt advised.

Chris threw his brother a look but stopped his pacing. He directed his gaze to his choice of outfit, a comfortable pair of jeans and a black shirt with a denim jacket over his arm in case it got cold along with a pair of sneakers. Was he underdressed? Faith had said casual so he guessed not. How much longer?

"Twenty-nine past. Just in case you were wondering." Wyatt voice from the couch, amusement evident in his tone.

Sixty seconds. Sixty seconds and she would be here. Chris didn't know why he was so anxious about this. He mulled over the possibilities of why he was so nervous when Wyatt's voice broke his thoughts.

"Half past." Wyatt alerted him.

Nothing.

No doorbell, no footsteps. No large explosion that sucked the entire world into oblivion.

What if she didn't show?

On cue, the doorbell sounded and Chris walked towards it, calling his goodbye over his shoulder to his family. With a smile on his face Chris opened the door and greeted Faith.

"Hi." He smiled, stepping outside and closing the door.

"Good evening Chris." She replied in her usual mannered tone.

Looking over her outfit eased his nerves, as she was dressed similarly to him. A pair of blue jeans encased her legs while a modest blue tee shirt wrapped around her upper body.

"You look amazing." He complimented her, watching her cheeks redden.

"Th-thank-you." She stammered to him as they headed to her car.

* * *

"Do I get to know where we are going, or is it a surprise?" Chris questioned, watching the lights streak past his passenger side window.

"It is a surprise. You just have to be patient." She teased good-naturedly.

Chris laughed and the car fell into silence. It stayed silent as minutes ticked by until Faith began to speak.

"Are we…okay? I-I-I mean after I um- after what I did?"

Chris's face softened at her obvious embarrassment and picked up on the tinge of sorrow in her tone, "Yeah. We're okay."

Faith smiled and Chris felt his chest flutter at the bright smile across her face. She turned the wheel and pulled into a parking space beside a large building. A sign painted on the side read 'YOGA CLASSES FOR EVERYONE! HALF PRICE ON TUESDAYS!'

"Yoga?" Chris said in disbelief. He understood that Faith told him to dress casually but… yoga?

Laughter spilled from Faith's lips in uncontrollable giggles. Accompanied by the smile on her face Chris watched in slight amusement as she tried in vain to hold back her giggles.

"You're beautiful when you laugh." He said without thinking.

Faith's giggles ceased and a blush rose in her cheeks.

"Thank-you. Again." She whispered, locking her eyes with his. Chris's hand pushed away a strand of hair from her face and watched the blush deepen to a tomato-like hue.

"Upstairs." She blurted out, "We're going upstairs. There is another place inside the Yoga studio."

"Oh. Okay then, lead the way." Chris smiled.

Faith dipped her head before shyly holding out her hand and brushing her fingers against Chris's. He twirled them together and smiled.

A long, winding staircase was built in to the large building. Faith headed up it with Chris in tow until they reached a small shop. Glittering beads hung in the doorway with a large sign above the door.

"Night Owls?" Chris read aloud, turning his gaze to Faith.

"A bookshop. It's only open from 6p.m. to 6a.m. It has an excellent selection of nearly every author. I…I um I figured you might like it." She whispered hesitantly.

Chris gazed around the room. It was cramped, yet the space seemed so large at the same time. Books were haphazardly stacked in every nook and cranny with no decipherable rhyme or reason to the placing. Cushy armchairs were randomly placed throughout the small shop and Chris could see himself making several trips here in the near future.

"Wow. This place is amazing. Do you come here often?" he asked Faith, who smiled shyly at him.

"Every now and then when I have the time." She replied quietly.

Chris took her hand in his and gave her a smile, which she returned with a dazzling smile of her own.

"So, where is the best place to start?" he asked her with a rise of his eyebrow, gesturing to the randomly stacked books.

Faith's eyes flickered around before she pointed off to the left, "Over there. Nothing is ordered here so check it all out but start there and work your way around. At least, that's how I do it."

Lacing their fingers together and smiling down at her, Chris lead them towards where she had pointed.

"Then let's go."

* * *

Two hours and fifteen minutes later, both Faith and Chris had piles of books clutched in their arms. Not only did the shop have nearly every author known to man, the prices were incredible. Chris's stomach gave a loud rumble and Faith giggled when she heard it.

"I guess that is a sign. They have a pretty good café down the street." She suggested.

"Café it is." Chris smiled. In the past two hours he had learned more about Faith and had seen her smile three times. The two had swapped stories and habits while they pawed through the books, laughing and joking. As the minutes ticked by Chris had noticed Faith grow comfortable in his presence as she opened up to him. He couldn't work out why, but he trusted her. Despite the demonic similarities and the secret keeping, something in his gut told him that she was trustworthy.

While the time had passed, Chris had also discovered several interesting facts about Faith. For one, her mother had never actually _read_ Twilight when she was named so Faith Isabella Cullen was a very honest fluke and another was that Faith had read at least five times the amount of books Chris had, along with the entire collected works of twelve authors Chris had never heard of. These were seemingly unimportant things, but to Chris it meant that she was really opening up to him. Discussions with Faith were usually very limited, but with every breathtaking smile, small tidbit of information and laugh he knew that she was opening up to him.

"Chris?"

Faith's voice jolted him out of his thoughts and she smiled to him softly, "You spaced out there for a second? Are you okay?"

"Yes I am, sorry about that. Just…that bookshop was amazing."

Faith nodded to him and pulled the door to the café open. The welcoming warmth of apple pie engulfed his senses and Chris took Faith's hand and headed inside.

* * *

The cold night air rushed over Chris's skin as he stepped out of the café feeling full beyond human comprehension. His long sleeves protected him from the cold; but Faith's sudden chilled gasp was unmistakable.

"Here, take my jacket." He offered to her like the true gentleman he was. Faith hesitantly curled her fingers in the jacket's fabric and slid it on. It was too big for her frail form but warmth immediately filled her body.

"Thanks, I can't remember when the weather was so hectic like this."

Chris's hand found hers and they walked down the street towards her car. Faith noticed Chris had suddenly become very quiet.

"Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly to him.

His head jerked up, almost as though she had pulled him from his thoughts.

"Sorry!" she said quickly, red tinting her cheeks, "It's none of my business."

Chris sensed how uncomfortable she was and squeezed her hand softly. He had been thinking of how Faith could possibly be involved in demonic attacks. Now it was time to put his plan to the test. He hated doing this to her, but he needed to try it.

"Just thinking about something that happened last week. There was a demon attack on a witch. The Elders suspect it might be some demon clan that we can't get rid of."

Chris kept his eyes trained on Faith's face, watching for a trace of recognition or guilt. When she turned her gaze to him he mask his expression to one of worry.

"Oh, that's awful! Should we be worried about it attacking us?"

Her worry seemed authentic, but Chris had known too many 'innocents' who could put on an Oscar winning performance.

"No, no. The Halex demons only attack males."

Green eyes widened in fear and a delicate hand gently squeezed Chris's.

"But what about you? Or Wyatt? Are you in any danger? Are the Elders doing anything about it?" Faith blurted out quickly, her heart rate increasing.

"Wyatt and I will be fine Faith, really. But it means a lot that you care. As for the Elders…" his eyes darkened, "I don't count on them much for anything. Bunch of morons who think they are on a pedestal if you ask me. Never know anything about anything and never do anything even when they do."

"Well… I don't know much about them but I, um; I always saw them as kind and caring people who watch over witches. Aren't they supposed to be like that?"

"Not all of them." Chris muttered darkly. Gideon's face rose into his kind, he was the reason for endless nights awake. Despite not knowing the Elder personally, Chris felt as though a part of him did.

Confusion was evident in Faith's eyes at his words, but Chris was hesitant to elaborate. Should he tell her? Could he tell her? He hadn't even told Clara about the 'Other Him' even though she knew of his witchly inheritance. Her grandmother had been a witch but the powers had seemingly stopped there.

"Faith," he began slowly, finally deciding what he was going to do, "can you keep a secret?"

The girl in question blinked at him owlishly before she stammered out her answer.

"O-Of course."

Chris took her hand again and looked around for a place to sit. A small green bench was situated just off the road on a large stretch of grass that was being remade into a park. He led her over, sat down and turned to face her.

"About eighteen or nineteen years ago, a whitelighter from the future showed up in the manor, claiming that in the future an evil hurt Wyatt. So, mom and my aunts started helping him look for the demon that hurt Wyatt. But after a while he told them that in the future and evil didn't hurt Wyatt. The evil he was trying to stop _was_ Wyatt."

Faith gasped softly but did not interrupt him.

"Mom apparently was furious when she found out and refused to believe him. She kicked him out of the manor and everything before she accepted that Wyatt turned evil."

"But Wyatt is so nice!" Faith protested, "How could he ever-"

Chris held up his hand and Faith immediately fell silent. A pink hue graced her cheeks and she whispered a quiet apology.

"As it turned out, he was wrong. It wasn't a demon in the future that turned Wyatt. It was an Elder named Gideon."

Faith's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat as she listened to Chris's story.

"The man died protecting Wyatt from Gideon's attacks, but in the end Gideon didn't make it out either. That man's name…was Christopher Perry Halliwell."

By now Faith was in complete shock. Chris had probably just divulged his biggest secret to her.

"It was you? From a different…future?"

Chris nodded slowly, allowing her to process all of the information. He was rather shocked himself having told her all of that. That story had never passed through his lips to anybody.

"Actually, he was technically from a different timeline now because of the way things happen. In his future by mom died when I turned fourteen and Wyatt was a homicidal maniac and my dad wasn't exactly the best one in the world. But him going back to the past and changing it all made a separate timeline from the other. It gives you a little bit of a headache if you think about it for too long."

Faith was still for several long seconds, her face a mix of confusion and sorrow.

"Faith?" Chris asked hesitantly.

Out of nowhere she flung herself at him, her arms wrapping around his neck in a tight hug. Chris stiffened momentarily before he relaxed and placed his hands on her back, reciprocating the hug. Several minute ticked by before Faith seemed to realize what she was doing and pulled back instantly, murmuring an apology to him and trying to hide her raging blush.

"Its okay Faith, really," Chris assured her, standing up and helping her to her feet.

"I just…why did you tell me that? Not that I am complaining but…why?"

Chris shrugged and gave her a knee-weakening smile, "I trust you Faith. And I just figured you could handle it."

A soft green gaze caught Chris's emerald eyes and held it firmly. The brunette saw a flicker of emotion pass through her eyes before she glanced down, breaking the connection.

"I want to show you a place I like to go. It is kind of far though so…could we…I mean we don't have to but- could we maybe-orb? It will be faster." She suggested quietly as they walked.

Chris nodded his head in agreement, and then proceeded to look around cautiously before he tugged her into an alleyway. Faith gave a gasp of shocked when she tottered on her feet before a warm hand caught her waist.

"Sorry, we just needed to be out of sight before I orbed. Exposing magic is a very bad idea." He whispered apologetically.

With a vague nod, Faith blinked rapidly and looked up at him questioningly.

Was that a blush on his cheeks?

"All you need to do is imagine the place you want me to orb you." He informed her slowly, the blush creeping down the back of his neck and to his ears.

Faith's lifeless green eyes still surveyed him silently, asking him wordlessly what was wrong.

"I can't orb people like Wyatt can. I have to hold you." He said, wincing at how much like a pick-up line it sounded.

Faith seemed to pick up on the slight innuendo in the line and she matched his blush. Chris laid his hand on the small of her back and the other around her waist. Faith's head rested on his chest just barely and she closed her eyes, imagining the place she wanted to go.

* * *

It was an odd sensation, orbing. It was like being painlessly divided into millions of pieces and then flying away. When the blue sparkles finally amalgamated back to two human bodies; Faith staggered unsteadily for a moment, trying to resist the overwhelming urge to empty the contents of her stomach into the field of knee-high grass they had materialized in.

Chris, who had been orbing around since before his mother was aware he could, caught sight of Faith's expression and deathly pale face and apologized for the lack of warning.

"It is weird at first," he assured her, " but it gets easier."

Barely seconds later Faith had squared her shoulders and composed herself.

"I'm okay," she murmured, "Just a little…floaty?"

"Perfectly normal." Chris was quick to assure her. He looked around yet saw nothing but wide expanses of rather long grass, "So, why are we here?"

The petite girl simply pointed heavenward, prompting Chris to follow her finger with his eyes. Stars painted the inky sky in the thousands. Each twinkled merrily at him, silently telling him hundreds of things.

"I come here a lot." Faith explained, lying down in the grass, completely disappearing from view except for the obvious indent in the sea of green.

"Where are we?" Chris asked, keeping his eyes on the sky. He copied Faith's move and lay in the grass. Their bodies flattened it out, giving them a clear view of one another.

"A few hours outside San Francisco. I can't tell you exactly because I'm not too sure myself. I just know where it is without really knowing."

Faith's head turned toward Chris, only to find the brunette already looking directly at her. His gaze was strong and steady, but had a hint of softness that made Faith's stomach swarm with butterflies.

Chris sat up and beckoned Faith to do the same. She sat in the grass beside him with a nervous bite of her lip.

Chris's hands cautiously reached out and brushed away her hair from her face. Pink flooded Faith's cheeks and Chris smiled to himself.

Like a true gentlemen, Chris locked eyes with Faith and asked, "Faith? Would it be alright with you if I was to kiss you?"

"It's my first kiss," she whispered with a wavering tone, "I might be bad at it. But- okay."

Chris's warm smile crept across his face and he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Warmth flooded Faith's veins at the feel of Chris's soft lips against hers when she hesitantly pressed back. Several seconds ticked by until Chris pulled away and he noticed Faith's eyes dim slightly.

"Faith? Are you okay?"

With a shake of her head; Faith sunk back into the grass and returned to her stargazing.

"It is sad that all of these stars have already died because of all the time it took for their light to reach the Earth." She mused aloud in an attempt to change the subject.

"Faith?" Chris tried again, now worried about what was wrong. Had he done something? Had he kissed her too soon?

"You don't know everything about me Chris." She said suddenly while she toyed absently with a blade of grass between her fingers.

'What does that mean?"

"You don't know everything about me Chris,"" she repeated quietly, "Remember that."

When Chris opened his mouth to say something, he caught a shimmer of movement in the corner of his eye before something in the grass lunged out at them.

* * *

**A/N- Long wait, I know! SORRY! But once again there is an evil building that I have to legally attend. Five reviews? Pretty please? And the next chapter SHOULD BE up soon! Note the SHOULD BE! No guarantees! Thanks to my reviewers for the last chapter. You guys are awesome. And if you get a message that this chapter has been posted AGAIN, it is just me posting a rewritten version. I do not love this chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chris reacted instantly, raising his arm to telekinetically throw the demon away as it advanced. Faith's shocked gasp reached his ears and his heart stopped when he saw a second demon heading for Faith.

Faith's eyes widened in terror and she instinctively closed her eyes and braced herself for a blow. A shriek pierced the silent night air so she bravely peeked through her eyes and saw the demon several feet away.

Had she done that?

Apparently so, as Chris was watching her with a mixture of confusion and relief. The demon advanced again at the exact moment another headed for Chris. He flung it away once more and began to mutter under his breath as it attacked again, undeterred. Meanwhile, Faith struggled to get away from the advancing demon.

"Pretty girl," it hissed, stretching out its long talons and baring blood-red teeth, "come and play?"

Struggling to her feet, Faith jerked away from the demon and tried to throw it off. She used telekinesis before, right? How hard was it to do it again? Out of nowhere the demon lunged and she shrieked out Chris's name.

Sharp talons sliced through Chris's shirt, drawing blood from his arm. He caught sight of Faith stumbling back into the grass with a demon above her, raking its nails down the left side of her face. He watched in horror as the demon raised its talons to its lips and licked the blood away. Instantaneously it's face curled up in disgust and it spat the blood into the grass. Faith remained immobile beneath the demon as it jerked away and snarled something Chris could not hear.

A piercing call ripped through the night air and the demon Chris was fighting snarled at him before it shimmered away into the night with it's partner following suit. It didn't even take Chris two seconds before he was crouched beside Faith, cradling her head in his hands and inspecting the damage caused by the demon.

Two jagged marks marred the ashen skin of her cheek, but that did not only worry Chris. Two green eyes stared up at him in utter terror and a petite body trembled uncontrollably.

"Faith? Faith?" he said desperately.

She whimpered and closed her eyes, still trembling. Without a second thought to his plan, Chris orbed them away to Wyatt's apartment. Orbing to the manor was a very bad idea; he never told his parents about demon attacks unless he absolutely had to and now, with the way the demon had rejected Faith, was one of those times when they were on a strict need to know basis. And they didn't need to know. Faith clung to Chris and buried her face in his jacket collar. The jacket was still wrapped around her slight frame but inside, she was chilled to the bone. After the demon had spat out her blood, it had snarled one word into her face.

"_Impure."_

* * *

Wyatt Matthew Halliwell stepped out of the bathroom, toweling his blond locks. His upper chest was bare and a pair of pajama pants clothed his lower body. A jingling of orbs caught his attention and he expected to find his Aunt Paige or one of his cousins. To his shock, Chris and Faith materialized, Faith gripping onto Chris for dear life.

"Wy! Heal her!" Chris demanded.

Wyatt strode towards them and raised his hands to Faith's ashen cheeks. The cut healed over but she continued to tremble with fear obvious in her eyes. Wyatt noted small red spots dotting his brother's arm and he immediately healed them over.

"What happened?" he demanded to know.

"Demons. They came out of nowhere and just attacked us. One of them went to attack Faith, but it back off."

He turned his head to the shuddering girl and Wyatt noticed that his brother's jacket was draped over her shoulders. Wyatt listened as Chris gave a full description of the demons, including what they had done to Faith.

"What did it say to you?" Chris asked, almost in an afterthought.

Faith's eyes darted nervously to Chris, "When?"

"It was going to attack you, and then it pulled away and said something. What was it?"

"I- I don't remember."

The tremble in her voice was beginning to drop but her hands were very obviously shaking.

Chris noticed the hesitation in her voice but ignored it in favour of turning to his brother.

"Faith used telekinesis to throw the demon back, so I think at some point this week Faith should 'discover' that power so we don't have to tell mom and dad what really happened."

Wyatt's eyes widened, "Telekinesis?"

Faith glanced over and dropped her gaze, her cheeks reddening, "Uh-huh. My mom has it so I guess I got it too. I don't know how to work it though, it just sort of happened."

Confused, Wyatt tried to work out why Faith was so suddenly embarrassed. He looked around the room and then it struck him. Rivers of water slowly dripped down his bare chest and he couldn't help but smile softly.

"I'll be back, let me go and put a shirt on."

Wyatt disappeared into his room, chucking softly and Chris gently sat Faith on one of the chairs.

"Are you sure you are okay?"

"Just a little shaky. It was scary." Faith admitted quietly.

Chris leaned in and gently placed a kiss onto her lips. Faith trembled almost unnoticeably before she hesitantly pressed back against his, almost as though she were unsure of what to do. Unnoticed by the two of them, Wyatt wandered back into the kitchen and caught sight of the pair; his brotherly instinct was to break them apart, make a comment about keeping the kitchen sanitary before teasing Chris about it for the rest of his life; but he knew that Faith was very shy so he retreated from the room. The blond counted silently to ten before slamming his hand onto the wall.

"OUCH!"

There was a soft gasp from in the kitchen and then Chris's voice.

"What happened?" he asked worriedly. Loud noises followed by exclamations of pain were never good things in the Halliwell household.

Wyatt rounded the corner to see Faith blushing madly and his brother focusing on him.

"Tripped over something on the floor. Crashed into the wall." Wyatt lied smoothly.

"Smooth." Chris laughed good-naturedly. Faith offered Wyatt had soft half-smile before she wrung her hands nervously when her gaze landed on the clock.

"Oh no."

"What?" Chris and Wyatt said at the same moment, looking around for demons.

"It is nearly my curfew. I still need to drop Chris home and get my car."

Chris closed his eyes and groaned; Faith's angry father was not something he wanted to have to handle.

"Well I can orb us to your car and then we can drive to your place and orb from there. How about that?"

"That is perfect." Faith said, relief evident in her tone.

Wyatt stepped forward beside his brother and looked at Faith. His penetrating blue eyes stared deep into hers and he offered her a smile that would make any woman in a five-mile-radius melt.

"So we will work this out, okay? We will look up those demons and work it all out. If anything happens, feel free to call for Chris or me tonight. Now, about your supposed telekinesis, it is up to you if you want to tell your parents now or keep it from them for a little bit until we work something out about how to tell them without mentioning the demons."

"I won't tell them." Faith said immediately, "they panicked the last time I was in a demon attack, I don't think they would take this one better."

Wyatt nodded slowly in understanding; many a demon attack had been kept a secret from piper and Leo Halliwell.

"Ready to go?" Chris asked, holding out his hands to Faith.

She smiled at Wyatt and nodded to Chris, tangling her fingers in his before thanking Wyatt once more. In a flurry of sparkles, the two disappeared, leaving Wyatt alone in his kitchen.

"Okay," he muttered to himself, "time to figure out what sort of thing we are dealing with."

He had borrowed the Book Of Shadows from his parents to find potion recopies for the potions that Chris was making for him. Despite being the most powerful source of good magic in the world, Wyatt Matthew Halliwell lacked the ability to make a potion correctly.

That sucked, in his opinion.

* * *

Chris reappeared twenty minutes later with a stupid grin on his face and a large bag in his hands. Normally Wyatt would have made a stupid remark to him or asked about what was in the bag, but instead, the Twice Blessed Magical; child was sitting unmoving at the kitchen table, the Book Of Shadows in front of him.

"Chris," he said slowly and evenly, not looking up, "I think you better see this."

Worry filled Chris's thoughts and he dropped the bag, books thudding onto the floor, "What?"

Wyatt silently pushed the Book of Shadows over to his brother and pointed to the passage he had been re-reading for the past fifteen minutes after finding it.

'_Drogans are demons that feed off of pure beings in desperate times of need to survive. Drogans will slowly kill the victim by drinking in the blood and the pureness of magic in it. Drogans only feed during desperate times and when in the deepest stage of need, will die if not acquiring it.'_

"So?" Chris asked, clearly confused by why Wyatt was so serious.

"They listen when the demon would be in the deepest stage of need, Chris. It's teeth will turn red with it's own blood and the talons will lengthen so they can kill victims faster. The Drogans you fought off were dying- probably are dead according to the book- and they tried to feed off Faith…only to spit out her blood."

"So?" Chris said again, his throat dry. He had the childish urge to clap his hands over his ears and refuse to listen.

"Her blood must not have been pure, Chris! Demons wouldn't have pure blood!"

Chris opened and closed his mouth soundlessly before he shook his head and turned his eyes to his big brother.

"Can I stay tonight?"

"Sorry?" Wyatt said, not expecting his brother's words. He had expected a denial, or a defense.

"Can I stay tonight? I will orb home and ask mom if I can."

It clicked in Wyatt's head what was happening. Chris needed to process everything first before he spoke to Wyatt. Wyatt's gaze softened on his brother before he smiled.

"Sure, go and ask mom. I will be here when you get back."

Chris orbed away with his thoughts scattered everywhere. This new revelation…it threw things into his face he didn't want to believe.

But one thought kept coming into his mind; it was almost his mantra at the moment.

"I haven't proved it. She hasn't attacked me. How evil could she be?"

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a nagging voice answered his last question.

'_She could be very evil…so is she worth the risk?'_

Chris's body solidified in the living room of his home and he sighed.

"Yes," he decided finally, "she is worth the risk."

* * *

"Chris-" Wyatt began as soon as his baby brother reappeared in a cloud of blue sparkles, clutching his clothes and toothbrush in his hands. Chris knew that tone, it was Wyatt's 'I know you won't like this but I need to say it' tone.

"Don't, Wyatt. She isn't a demon."

Chris didn't want to go into this now. Faith wasn't a demon, and he had spent the last twenty-five minutes telling himself that. And now he truly believed it.

"But-"

"I said NO, Wyatt!"

Plates began to rattle in the cupboard and Wyatt sealed his mouth shut. Chris saw the expression on his brother's face and sighed heavily.

"Wyatt, she…she can't be. She isn't. And even if she was… I couldn't do it."

"Why not?" Wyatt asked.

Chris lowered his head and searched his brain for an answer. But Wyatt had one of his own.

"Do you love her?"

The brunette's head snapped up, green eyes filled with an emotion Wyatt did not recognize.

"NO! I mean, I like her but- love is a big thing, Wyatt."

"Whether you like her or not, Chris, we have a job to do. If she is a demon…she needs to be vanquished."

"Well when Megan was the demon in question I didn't hear you saying that!" Chris fired back at his older brother.

Wyatt's voice became very steady, "Megan…was different. She wasn't evil."

"Neither is Faith!"

"You don't know that."

"NEITHER DO YOU!"

Wyatt took in a deep breath and sighed loudly, "One more chance, Chris. She gets one more chance from me before I try and find out if she really is a demon. But if I suspect she is…you're my little brother. It is my job to protect you, okay?"

Chris relaxed, his breathing slightly heavy.

"Thank you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to mention Megan."

Wyatt waved his hand and slapped his brother's back, "It's okay, Chris. I can't deny that I dated a demon."

Two years ago, Megan Tate had become Wyatt's girlfriend and one of his more serious relationships. Five months into it, Wyatt had found out she was a demon. But he had neglected to tell anyone about it, and when they found out he had insisted that she wasn't evil. In the end Megan had been vanquished by another demon. Piper had believed that Megan was evil but she stood by her son when the Elders had wanted to temporarily take away his powers for fraternizing with a demon and threatening the witch race if she had stolen his powers.

Chris gave his brother a smile and Wyatt punched his shoulder, "Oh and by the way, just because I asked you to stay, doesn't mean you can have my bed. You are sleeping on the floor."

Chris flashed his big brother a smile and he shrugged, "I didn't expect it to be any other way, Wy."

This was what Chris loved the most about his relationship with his brother. As soon as they were done fighting- the fight was completely over. And they were back to being themselves.

His older brother laughed, "Okay, well I was going to watch a movie but now, we can have the extra entertainment of having you tell me what happened on your date!"

Wyatt expected a snappy retort form his brother but instead found his staring at the ground with a smile on his face.

"Chris? Chris? Oi! Little nerd!"

Chris's green eyes snapped over with irritation, "I am not a nerd Wyatt, and just for that, I am not telling you anything."

"You weren't going to tell me anything anyway were you?" Wyatt guessed.

"Nope."

"Got it. Go and get changed, baby brother or I will start the movie without you."

When Wyatt had walked away Chris smiled to himself again. There was nothing on the floor for Wyatt to have tripped over. He had noticed that the floor was devoid of objects and he knew that his brother was far too lazy to pick anything up off the ground. And Chris also knew it had been years since Wyatt had tripped over his own feet, which meant only one thing. Wyatt must have seen him and Faith together and pretended to trip so they didn't get 'busted'.

"Hurry up, Chris!"

Chris smiled and headed for the bathroom to change. Gotta love family.

* * *

He hated Wyatt.

Chris raced down the school hallway Monday morning, his sneakers thudding loudly in the silent halls and echoing down. That morning, when Chris's alarm had gone off, Wyatt had promptly rolled over and shut it up before going back to sleep, leaving Chris blissfully unaware that he was late until he awoke to find the clock glaring the time of a quarter to nine. He skidded to a stop in front of his homeroom and flinched at the squealing sound his shows made against the floor. Composing himself he stepped through the doors and flashed his teacher a smile.

"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Halliwell," Mrs. Samson commented in her Irish accented tone, with a small smile of her own.

"Slept in, sorry I'm late."

"I will excuse you this time, but do try to be on time."

With a nod of his head Chris leant casually against the doorframe and watched the clock with his piercing eyes.

"Three…two…one."

The bell sounded and he darted out of the room and down the hall before leaning against the wall and nodding to the exiting students he knew. Mary strolled out and gave him a small wave and he waved back before looking back at the door. At last, Faith wandered out, nose buried between the pages of a book with her English notes in the crook of her arm. Chris felt his chest constrict for a moment when he saw her unblemished cheek and remembered what the book had said. Pure.

Pushing that thought out of his head. Chris stepped in beside Faith and leaned down to her ear.

"Hey."

Faith gave a startled gasp and dropped the book she was holding. Before it made contact with the floor Chris caught it and gave her a dazzling smile.

"Did I scare you?"

"A little." Faith admitted, accepting her book with a quiet thank-you.

"Sorry about that. Here, let me."

Like a true gentleman, Chris took Faith's English book out of her arms along with her pencil case and placed them atop his. He motioned to Faith to walk with him and she smiled. Chris felt his stomach give a twist at the sight.

"So," he began casually as they walked, "how are you?"

"I'm good. Oh, about the study session this afternoon, I was wondering if maybe we could…uh…have it at my place? The school library is closing early this afternoon and I don't want to impose on your family again."

Breathtaking green eyes glanced down at her and the brunette shrugged, "It is okay with me, mom won't mind."

He couldn't help but notice that Faith had skillfully dodged having to give an elaborate answer to his question. The door to their English classroom was ajar and students were filing in at their own pace in groups of three or four. Despite being relatively early, most of the desks were taken apart from a pair at the front and two singles at the back.

"Back?" Chris suggested to Faith, knowing her preference for hiding where she was least likely to be seen.

With her long limbs crossed over her chest and her top teeth holding her bottom lip, Faith appeared to deep in thought when Chris looked over at her. Chris hesitantly reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Faith?"

"Front." She said finally, her voice steady.

Chris was shocked to say the least, but placed the books down on the double desk. The plastic chairs were far from comfortable, but Chris ignored it in favour of turning to his seating companion.

"So did you bring your car today because I actually had to…" he dropped his voice to the very minimum it could be to still be heard and leaned forward, "Orb. Wyatt turned my alarm off and I was not going to be late."

A giggled slipped through Faith's lips as she looked over, "Yeah, I drove. We can take my car to my place."

"Excellent plan."

The conversation around them consisted of the latest lip-gloss scents and flavors, the upcoming football match and whom Joy Hart was currently dating. Chris half-listened to the conversation about the football match with a sense of nostalgia. His first few years here at Baker High had been filled with sporting activities from football to baseball and the school track team. He and Wyatt had managed to wear their mother out just talking about the selection of sports they had played. But in his final year, Chris had decided that he needed to have enough spare time to keep up his grade point average and do well enough to get into a good University. His grades had come dangerously close to sloping last year before he had yanked them up by pulling consistent all-nighters.

"All that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity!" a breezy voice cut through the growing sea of chatter. Miss Melville walked into the room with her usual air of the unusual. She was one of Chris's favourite teachers. With her sarcastic sense of humor and great ability to make one understand she was known as one of the best teachers on campus.

Chris heard Faith mutter something and he leaned closer.

"What?"

"Act one, scene two." She repeated.

The words were lost on Chris until Miss Melville clapped her hands together and sat down on her desk, facing the class.

"_That_, my dear young ones, is a quote from Shakespeare's play, _Hamlet_, Act One, Scene Two."

His eyes widened and he turned to Faith in utter disbelief. How on earth could she have remembered that?

"Now we are moving on to studying Shakespeare and his plays."

A collective groan came from the class and Miss Melville narrowed her eyes.

"The next person to groan will find themselves having to reenact Romeo and Juliet in front of the class next week, no script!"

The noise ceased and she grinned, 'Now, while I hand out your work sheets, who here can name any Shakespeare plays?"

Every hand went into the air and the brown haired teacher shook her head, "The first person to say, '_Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream or Othello'_, will be thrown from this classroom. I am looking for some VARIETY here, cherubs!"

A sea of hands fell from the air and Chris was surprised to find Faith with her hand still raised, her fingers trembling slightly.

"Janice?" Miss Melville began as she strolled across the row of desks, placing papers onto each one.

"Twelfth Night?" the curly-haired cheerleader replied.

"CORRECT!"

The teacher came to Chris and Faith's desk and placed the paper down and looked up briefly, "Yes, Faith…Faith?"

The shock was evident in her eyes, which darted to the back corner of the room briefly before resting on the girl before her.

"Titus Andronicus."

"Yes, well done Faith." The teacher gave Faith a small smile and turned her eyes to Chris before letting her lips curve into a smile for him as well. Apparently she was pleased to see Faith up front and accompanied.

"Moving on… come on now, can't ANYONE name one Shakespeare play?" she called, moving back along the row.

Chris nudged Faith gently in the arm to gain her attention.

"You like Shakespeare a lot, don't you?" he asked quietly. He wasn't entirely shocked; Faith's literary tastes were actually something he marveled at. He had learned that at the age of seven she had already finished the entire Roald Dahl collection, C.S Lewis and the Harry Potter series all by herself. And from how she had quoted Shakespeare after they had met, it was understandable that she knew quite a lot of his work.

"Bad habit, actually." She admitted quietly, removing a blue pen from her pencil case and scrawling her name at the top of the sheet, "I found a collection of his works in the bookshop once so I bought it. It became a very bad addiction. I have some of my favourite quotes memorized and a few of the acts as well."

She paused and lowered the pen, "Sorry, I'm babbling on about nothing, never mind."

"No, no, I like listening to you talk."

Faith laughed quietly and she smiled, absently fiddling with the hem of her old gray shirt. Chris glanced over at her books and saw Twilight sitting on top of everything and he sighed.

"Twilight again? Is this the millionth re-read?" he joked.

"I like it," Faith said quietly, picking up the book and absently flipping the pages, "because of the meaning."

"Meaning?"

"The relationship between Bella and Edward is so strictly forbidden. But it is somewhat realistic, minus the vampire thing. Edward had a mysterious vibe about him that captured Bella's attention and even when she found out he was a vampire; she continued to be enraptured by him. And, even thought Bella and Edward both knew that there was something inside him that could hurt her…they fell in love anyway."

Once Faith was finished her explanation, Chris fell silent as he processed her words.

He couldn't be sure, but he had a feeling that Faith was maybe not just talking about Edward and Bella's relationship in that discussion…

* * *

By the end of the day, Chris had decided that he despised school with every fiber of his being. Well, not all of school, more the lunch time period, when Harry had decided to ask Faith about how the date had been… complete with suggestive comments and wiggling eyebrows. Emmalee, however, had come to Faith's rescue and slammed her knee into his thigh. Emmalee and Mary had then turn around and asked Faith how the date had been. Many evaded questions later, Emmalee was shooting Chris glances and Harry was occasionally staring at him and raising his eyebrows before looking over at Faith.

He sometimes questioned his choice of friends.

He and Faith headed over to her car; deep in conversation about books Chris had always wanted to read, but had ever gotten around to. As expected, Faith had already breezed through them many times before.

"To Kill A Mockingbird is classic, so don't let it's age fool you." Faith warned him as they crossed the student parking lot.

"I won't, next time I am at the library I will hire it out." He promised.

"I could lend it to you…if you wanted. I mean, you don't have to and besides, my copy is kind of old and-"

"I'd love to." Chris cut her off firmly, giving her his trademark smile. Faith resisted the urge to melt into a content pile of goo at his look and flashed him a mile of her own.

"CHRIS!"

Faith felt someone push past her roughly and she slumped against the car, throwing out her arm for balance. She didn't need to look up to know who had pushed her aside. Joy stood in front of Chris, twirling her hair between her fingers. She was smacking strawberry flavored bubblegum, Faith could tell as the potent scent invaded her senses, along with expensive perfume.

"I was looking for you today," Joy purred, batting her eyelashes, "see, I'm having a little trouble in math and I was wondering if maybe you could tutor me?"

She ended her sentence with a giggle and she licked her lips slowly, dragging her tongue over her teeth. Chris stepped past her and touched Faith's arm, pulling her up to stand properly before silently asking her if she was okay with a single look.

Joy spun around, hair extensions flying and her lips curved up, "Oh. Hello Faith." She spat Faith's name with venom that Chris found disturbing. Like a gentleman, he looked Joy in the eyes and began.

"Sorry Joy, but I am already tutoring Faith. I am sure Miss Cunningham could find you a suitable math tutor."

Miss Cunningham was Joy's math teacher; Harry had the misfortune of being in the same class.

Joy's eyes narrowed and she blew a bubble, popping it loudly before bringing the gum back into her mouth with her tongue.

"But surely one more wouldn't hurt. I won't be a burden." Joy sunk her lips into a perfectly glossed pout and she giggled again.

"Sorry Joy but I only have time to help Faith. Miss Cunningham will have to help you. Now, I'm sorry but Faith and I have to go."

"WAIT!" Joy said, evidently trying to keep her voice calm at the rejection.

Faith, who was standing half behind Chris, stepped forward to his side but remained silent. Chris, on the other hand, raked a hand through his hair and huffed impatiently.

"Joy, really, I don't have much time."

"Want to go out sometime? I have great tickets to The Purrs for tomorrow night. Front row, center."

The Purrs were a worldwide pop group that was well known for suggestive lyrics, vulgar dance moves and several newsworthy affairs with important people. They were the idols of any Joy followers and Joy herself.

"Sorry Joy, but I have a girlfriend."

At his words two very separate reactions occurred. Joy's eyes nearly bugged out of her head and she narrowed her eyes furiously at Faith, her lips curving into a snarl.

"Well fine! Maybe some other time!" she said in a saccharine tone that was far too forced. She flounced away, expensive boots slamming into the ground.

Faith on the other hand felt warmth spread through her at Chris's words. Girlfriend? She was his girlfriend? Inside she was jumping up and down, singing and dancing. But something inside her was also shrinking away, hollering about how bad this new revelation was.

"Faith?"

This was bad. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad! Beyond bad. She couldn't be his girlfriend.

"Faith?"

"Hm?" she said, snapping back into reality.

"You okay?" Chris asked worriedly.

"I'm fine I just…I um…I'm your girlfriend?"

The words sounded odd in her mouth, like they were wrong somehow. Like she shouldn't be saying them.

Chris's cheeks warmed and he coughed uncomfortably, "Well, I um…if you want to be?" he finished lamely.

Faith's mind was screaming at her to say she didn't want to be, that they should stop seeing each other and she should just blend back into the shadows and never be though of again. But her heart was screaming something else.

"I do want be."

And as soon as the words left her mouth, her brain knew she was setting Chris up for a broken heart.

* * *

"Twelve?"

"No."

"Eleven?"

"Wrong."

"Ten?"

"Faith!"

"Nine and a half?"

"Faith, stop guessing," Chris laughed happily, tapping his pencil onto the book in front of his girlfriend.

"But it's hard!" Faith complained, "It makes no sense at all!"

Chris smiled at her and shrugged, 'I see where you are coming from and it may look confusing at first but after a little bit…"

"It has been a little bit. And now my brain just hurts."

Chris rocked back on his chair and stretched his arms high above his head, a yawn cracking at his jaw, "How about we take a break?"

"A break sounds excellent. I actually have a few things I want to show you." Faith explained.

She beckoned him forward with her hand and headed up the stairs to a white door, which she pushed open without struggle. Inside, Chris could only assume it was her room.

A double bed was positioned in the center of the room, neatly made; three large bookcases stood against the wall, crammed to capacity with authors Chris had never heard of; dark curtains shrouded the windows and a desk lay in the corner, covered in books and in disarray.

"I wanted to show you these books. They are just a few I mentioned to you last night and I figured you might like them."

Faith began to remove book after book from the shelf and Chris took the opportunity to look around her room a little more. Several pieces of artwork were framed around the walls, including several paintings of various constellations. He tapped his foot absently and the floorboard beneath him groaned quietly. Chris looked up to see if Faith had heard, but she was busy piling books onto the small table by the bookcase, absently making comments about the books. Chris critically inspected the floorboard and noticed a small groove on the edge, just big enough to lift it up.

But what was underneath it to need to lift it up?

A shrill noise echoed up the stairs and Chris jumped as though he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Phone." Faith informed him, misinterpreting his jump as just being jolted, not being afraid of being caught.

He followed Faith down the stairs as she reached for the phone, catching it between her fingertips.

"Hello, Cullen residence this is Faith speaking?" she answered formally.

"Daddy! Yes I'm fine." Faith listened intently and before she scribbled something down onto a pad of paper.

"No daddy that is fine. Oh, I'm only home because the library was closed this afternoon so Chris and I came here to study."

Chris felt ice drop into his stomach as soon as Faith said those words. He knew her father was most likely not going to take the news well.

"Yes, daddy, he's here. We're studying. Okay then, see you when you get home."

The call disconnected and Faith turned to Chris with a smile. Chris looked at the phone and saw a small red light flashing on the answering machine.

"You have a message."

Dull green eyes flicked to the machine and she frowned.

"Odd."

Faith hit the button and the machine beeped, "Faith," a male voice began, "We need you back here tomorrow-"

The machine cut off abruptly when Faith ended the message, dragging her fingers through her hair nervously.

"It's good, it can wait." She said off Chris's look, "now, I think I am ready to attempt the math again."

Her voice had a scared edge to it, but her eyes were empty of emotion. Wyatt's words came rushing into his head, echoing around. He needed to know.

"Sure, but do you think I could use the bathroom first?" Chris asked casually, not wanting to show any emotion in case she caught on to what he might be attempting.

"Third door on the left." Faith informed him with a small smile of relief.

* * *

Chris closed the bathroom door and sighed to himself. It was now or never… he needed to know. Everything was rushing around in his head now; words Wyatt had spoken, things about Faith Chris had found suspicious, or things that didn't add up. The phone call, the days off, the Halex demon similarities, the lies he somehow knew she was telling.

Searching his brain, Chris finally recalled the spell that had appeared in the book weeks ago. With a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach, he began to recite it.

"_Secrets hidden from blind eye_

_Pull back the veil between the lie,_

_Expose the truth for me to see,_

_Light the darkness, set it free"_

His skin tingled momentarily before returning to normal. Had it worked? With a quick splash of water onto his face, Chris headed down the stairs and approached the kitchen with caution. As he rounded the corner he jumped back in shock…

* * *

**A/N- sorry! I know that this chapter is late and not at all up to the standard it should be, but for the past five weeks I have been fighting off a chest infection that has been very persistent and getting steadily worse. I do LOVE my readers and reviewers who stick by me so if you are still reading, thanks for the support.**

**I know a lot of people have a lot of time on their hands and such but around chapter eight or so I realized I lost a lot of my reviewers. If I did something wrong, could you guys maybe let me know? If no one is reviewing I can't really write because I don't know if anyone is enjoying it. But to those Faithful reviewers I have, you are amazing! **

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

With a gasp, Faith jumped back too, clearly not expecting to see him standing there. Chris let out a ragged breath and tried to calm his thudding heart. It had only been Faith coming around the corner.

"You scared me." Chris breathed with a small smile towards Faith, taking the chance to look her over.

She looked normal. No talons, or marks that would suggest she was a demon. Was he just being paranoid? Had the spell worked?

Faith trembled slightly, still slightly jumpy, "You scared me too, I was just going upstairs to get those books for you."

As soon as the words left her mouth, a haze of green smoke circled around her, causing Chris's eyes to widen. Faith noticed this and stepped forward.

"Are you okay, Chris?"

"You can't- you don't-" he stammered at her calmness. There was _green_ smoke around her- how could she not notice?

The green smoke was fading now and Faith looked extremely puzzled.

"I don't what?"

Shaking his head, Chris cleared his thoughts, "Uh, nothing. Just a little bit of a headache, that's all."

"Would you like an aspirin?" Faith offered, gesturing for him to sit down in his chair, "Or do you need to go home?"

Chris sunk into the chair, thoroughly confused. He guessed the mist was part of the spell…but what was it telling him.

"Uh- an aspirin, please."

Faith approached the cupboard and removed the aspirin bottle before filling up a glass with water and placing it in front of him. Chris gulped them down before he turned his gaze back to Faith, trying to keep his demeanor calm and collected and not show that he was assessing her for demonic contamination.

"So, are you ready to keep studying?" he asked her with a smile that he hoped did not look forced.

Faith eyed him curiously before she gave a slow nod, "Yes, I suppose."

A red mist floated around her body this time, hanging in the air for a few moments before fading away. It was at that moment that everything clicked in his head. Green meant she was telling the truth- and red meant she was lying. So she, in fact, did not want to start the math.

"Are you sure? Because, if you wanted, we could take a longer break and just…talk?" he suggested. Faith gazed at him for a moment before she broke into a smile.

"Okay, but let me go and get you those books first. Stay sitting down, headaches have a tendency to get better if you are seated."

Chris nodded and watched Faith exit the kitchen before he began to think about what the spell could do. It was a spell to see what was hidden- right? Well, the green and red mist clearly gave away lies…but what about her blood? Wyatt had said that demons had impure blood, but would he be able to see it if he tried?

"Okay," he muttered to himself when the light footsteps on the stairs alerted him to Faith's incoming presence, "here goes nothing."

When Faith reappeared in the kitchen, she was carrying a stack of books in her arms. She placed them on the table before sitting down across from Chris. Chris focused his stunning eyes on her and began to think.

'Show me what Faith is hiding…show me what is in her blood…show me if she is evil…'

This time, instead of a red or green haze, Chris watched an obsidian cloud hang around Faith. His heart thudded loudly when he caught sight of her wrist. Where blue veins should have been…there was black. All over her body, black lines moved ominously.

Black…Darkness…Evil.

Faith was a demon.

"Chris? Are you-"

Faith didn't have a chance to finish her sentence before the door opened and a voice cut through the air.

"Faith? I'm home!"

Chris's heartbeats increased at the recognizable sound of Faith's father's voice.

"Daddy?" Faith asked, obviously confused as to why he was here.

With Faith distracted, Chris began to make up a counter spell. He couldn't take it. He couldn't see Faith like this.

She **wasn't** evil.

She wasn't **evil**.

**She** wasn't evil.

Only now, it seemed harder and harder to believe it.

* * *

'_Reverse the spell I thought to cast,_

_Remove it now and make it fast'_

Chris muttered under his breath, using the first words that came to mind. Faith turned her head to him with a small frown.

"Did you say something?"

Chris shook his head, disbelief washing over him when he caught sight of the small-framed girl in front of him.

How could she be evil?

Faith's father appeared in the doorway and he narrowed his eyes at Chris before giving his daughter a smile.

"Hello Faith…boy." He addressed Chris curtly.

Chris rose to his feet and gave him a sharp nod, "Sir."

"Why are you home so early, Daddy?" Faith asked, closing her textbook with confusion in her innocent eyes.

John's eyes darted to Chris quickly and Chris automatically stiffened, not wanting her father to see the confusion and hurt in his eyes.

"I got off work early, I know I asked you to start dinner on the phone but as soon as I hung up, Jack said I could go. What a stroke of luck." He gave his only daughter a soft smile and turned his blue eyes on Chris again, "are you here to stay for dinner, boy?"

Chris wasn't sure what to say. Yes meant he might be intruding and no meant he might seem weak. And right now that was the last thing he honestly had on his mind.

"Actually, daddy, he has a family dinner tonight. He has to go soon anyway." Faith interjected helpfully when she saw Chris's confused expression.

Ah. The dinner. He had forgotten about that. All of his family squashed up at the table, arguing and screaming, fighting over the last piece of cheese toast…

Faith was a demon.

No matter where his mind wandered, all he kept coming back to was that single thought.

Faith. Was. A. Demon.

And in that very moment, with Faith sitting across from him looking worried, and her father beside him, glaring at him disapprovingly, Chris realized something.

He didn't care.

Well, perhaps that was the wrong phrasing for it. He **did** care that Faith was evil. But for some reason… he felt safe. For a brief second, Chris wondered if this was how Wyatt had felt after he found out about Megan. He cared, but Faith meant so much to him…did it really need to matter?

"Faith," John said suddenly, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder, "I think I saw some mail as I drove in, could you go and get it for me?"

Knowing what would happen as soon as Faith left the kitchen, Chris had the urge to get on his knees and beg Faith to stay, but he instead calmly gave her a reassuring nod when she cast him a questioning glance.

Sure enough the second the door closed, John Cullen was in the chair before him, hands clasped together in a disturbingly scary way. Demons Chris had fought had nothing on him and Chris momentarily forgot his problems as soon as he met the icy blue eyes of his girlfriend's father.

"I don't like you." John said curtly, deciding he should begin brutally honest, "but my daughter does and I can tell you that I have never seen her care for someone as much as she does for you; so let me tell you this right now. My daughter is special, if you hurt her in any way, shape or form, there will be no place on this green earth for you to hide. I understand that today, you and Faith were studying and I only believe that because it is what Faith told me; but if I _ever _come into this house to find that the two of you are…not studying…you will never see my daughter again. Are we clear?"

John surveyed the boy silently, watching the words process in his head.

"May I say something, sir?" Chris asked politely.

John's eyebrows climbed but he nodded, waiting for the boy to speak.

"I know Faith is special, and I know that if I was to hurt her, I would never see the light of day again; but I am not going to hurt her. Faith means a lot to me and I don't hurt the people who mean that much to me. I will protect her and care for her, and I would never, ever push her into anything. I need you to try and like me, because if you don't, I don't even have the slightest chance with Faith. I don't make a point of being on parent's bad sides. I understand that you are worried, but you don't need to worry."

Chris took in a deep breath as he finished and John processed the boy's words.

"She is my only daughter, you are her first boyfriend, and you are both seventeen… I always have something to worry about." John said finally, "But I will try and like you, boy, because Faith likes you."

The door closed and Faith walked in, papers clutched in her hands, "I got them." She announced, darting her eyes between Chris and her father.

Chris watched her walk forward and place them on the table before she smiled at Chris, her eyes sparkling when she noticed the small smile in her father's face.

"Not to be rude, Mr. Cullen, but I should be going, I don't want to be late to the dinner. But, Faith, I think I left my phone in your car so I will just duck out and get it then orb. It was nice seeing you again, sir. See you tomorrow Faith."

"Boy," John said suddenly, his tone making Faith's eyes widen and Chris freeze, "how about you come for dinner on Friday night?"

"Dinner?" Chris asked, his voice steady. His heart had been pounding against his rib cage at the tone, but dinner didn't seem so bad.

"Yes, boy, dinner. Six o'clock sharp."

Chris seemed to ponder this before he nodded, "I will be there, sir. Thank-you for the invitation."

He nodded to Mr. Cullen and smiled at Faith, keeping his eyes anywhere but on hers. Chris slowly gathered the books Faith had recommended, deliberately leaving his math textbook on the bench before he left the house and headed down the path. John Cullen watched his only daughter's eyes soften and her eyes to light up as she watched Chris walk away and he frowned.

"Faith-"

"He left his textbook." Faith interrupted, glancing down at the book sitting innocently on the table, "I should go and give it to him before he leaves."

Knowing that move very well, having used it when he and Tanya had first started dating, John opened his mouth to protest, but closed it abruptly when Faith breezed past him, almost dancing her way to the door. The fifty-year-old sighed heavily, hearing the door close and knowing that she was only setting the poor boy to be hurt. He and Tanya had explained to Faith that it was not meant to happen like this; that she shouldn't have gotten involved with him when she would have to…

He slammed his hand onto the table, rattling the glass centerpiece. He couldn't stand to think of his baby girl, his miracle; cursed the way she was. He hated himself for what he had done to her, though his wife had insisted over and over it was not his fault, he knew it. The…_thing_ that twisted itself around her body and claimed it as it's own- it was nothing but his fault. He didn't know how it was…he just knew. Though Tanya had insisted that it had been in _her_ blood, not his...it was still all his own fault.

The sight of Christopher smiling at Faith when she had walked down the stairs on her very first date had plagued his dreams. If the boy knew, if he knew was coming in his future.

What would he do?

* * *

"Chris? Chris?" Faith called with confusion as she walked down the path. Her car was empty and Chris was nowhere in sight. Maybe he had already orbed? As if on cue, two hands snaked around her waist and dragged her backwards into a secluded corner by the house. A scream began on her lips but a hand clapped over it and warm lips brushed the shell of her ear.

"It's me."

Faith's terror died, only to be replaced with the feeling of embarrassment. She turned her head and found her face mere centimeters from Chris's, their noses brushing slightly when they moved. Warmth crept over Faith's cheeks at their proximity and she smiled shakily.

"You forgot your book."

Chris's hand left her waist and Faith felt a sadness wash over her. Chris's eyes were slightly dim and she tilted her head in confusion.

"Are you okay, Chris?"

Out of nowhere, Chris leaned down to brush a gentle kiss across her lips. It was barely there but still, butterflies fluttered in Faith's stomach. When Chris pulled back his eyes still held sadness, but he had masked it rather well.

"You look beautiful today, Faith." He whispered quietly to her, resting their foreheads together for a brief moment before he disappeared in a swirl of sparkling lights. Faith blinked for several seconds, still slightly frozen from the kiss. She hesitantly raised her fingers to her lips and her face broke into a dazzling smile.

Beautiful.

It was as if everything had fallen away as she mindlessly made her way into her house. Her father was hunched over the kitchen counter, but his green eyes flicked up when she entered.

"Faith." He said slowly and levelly, his eyes betraying every emotion he held inside him.

"Daddy?" Faith replied innocently.

"Faith." He said again, this time with an obvious tone in his voice, making Faith clearly understand what was coming.

"Daddy-"

"Faith- you cannot keep going like this, you know what he said-"

"I know what he said, but I don't care!" Faith replied, her voice trembling.

"Faith," her father began as he raked a hand through his graying hair, "You know that this," he gestured to her body, "is not permanent."

"I will find a way." Faith said, heat coiling in her stomach, eating away at her as anger filled her tone.

John faltered rather obviously as he watched his daughter's eyes fill with rage. He knew what would be coming next and he knew she had very little control over it, if any.

"Faith, your relationship with this boy-" he began tentatively.

"CHRIS! _THAT BOY'S_ NAME IS CHRIS!" Faith yelled loudly, her father flinching as he watched his daughter's cheeks turn red with rage, "AND HE DOES NOT NEED TO KNOW! I WILL FIND A WAY!"

"Faithy-"

Faith had turned on her heel and was halfway up the stairs before he could even speak any other words. The silence was broken by a loud slam of the door and then…nothing.

Inside her room, Faith sunk to the ground behind her door, sobs she refused to make gathered in her throat and she sniffed pitifully. She closed her eyes, silently counting to ten, then twenty until she reached one hundred. Slitting open her lifeless green eyes, Faith held out her quivering hand in front of her face.

That had been too close.

Thoughts of what she could have done had she not walked away hit her with full force and she screwed up her eyes.

This time, she would last. She wasn't going to slip again. More weeks away from school would only arouse suspicion.

The door downstairs opened and closed and soft murmuring carried up the staircase. Faith curiously cracked open the door and caught snatches of the conversation.

"Slipping… Chris…help her…magic might work…consequences…lost her temper with me…"

Faith eased the door closed and this time allowed tear after tear to drip from her eyes.

* * *

Chris could easily say that the Halliwell family dinner had been hell. Between food flying from Dora to Melinda and Junior deciding that anything and everything needed to be coloured red Chris went to bed and collapsed on it; his mind still racing with thoughts of Faith.

Evil.

Demonic.

Wicked.

No matter how he put it, everything seemed to crash around him. His stomach fluttered when he remembered how Faith had reacted when he pulled her behind her house, and the look in her eyes when he kissed her softly.

"Crap!"

Chris sunk his face into his pillow and muffled his curses before he rolled onto his back and gazed up at the ceiling.

Faith was a demon. But he didn't care. Those two thoughts didn't click in his head correctly, but it was the most logical answer.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he asked the ceiling, not sure who he was really talking to.

The glowing numbers of his alarm clock spun over as hours passed, Chris simply staring up at his ceiling. By one in the morning, Chris had finally decided what it was he was going to do.

Nothing.

Faith had had multiple opportunities to harm him, multiple chances to steal his powers and get away with it. But she hadn't. And he was not about to condemn her for something she had not done. Just because she was a demon, it did not mean she was evil. He would wait for her to tell him what she was; if she ever did. But until then, Faith was Faith. The girl he fell for.

Unable to stop the stupid grin from creeping onto his face, Chris sighed happily, tiredness finally hitting him like a ton of bricks. Stretching his hands high above his head, the brunette stood up and headed over to his dresser, folding up his clothes and preparing for bed. His eyes caught a stack of heavy books and he smiled before lifting them off to reveal a small, pressed rose between them.

"Goodnight, Faith." He muttered to himself before he headed over to his bed and slid between the sheets.

* * *

_The athame sliced through Faith's back, cutting clean through flesh and bone as crimson spilled all over Chris's hands. Wide green eyes stared at him, rapidly losing their shine, as they became lifeless pools._

"_Demon." Chris hissed, waiting for the body to erupt in flames._

_No flames, just the limp and unmoving body before him. A hand touched his shoulder and he looked up to find an ashen-faced Faith behind him, looking down at her silent body._

"_Human," she corrected softly before fading into nothing and leaving Chris with the corpse of his girlfriend._

Chris flew up in bed, his chest drenched with sweat. Brown hair was plastered to his face and he drew in shallow breaths as he remembered every detail in vivid colour.

"Faith." He breathed softly, remembering how it had felt to have the athame slice through her body…

Chris coughed and felt the sick feeling of vomit rise. The clock beside his bed was glowing that it was five twenty sevenand he knew he would not be getting back to sleep any time soon. With a heavy sigh, Chris leaned back against the plump pillows and took several deep breaths, knowing how to calm himself from a nightmare. It was not as if he had never experienced one before; they happened regularly to be honest. It was either a dream of his past life where Wyatt was an evil Lord or his fourteenth birthday…he shuddered at the memory of his mother's body sprawled on the ground, blood dripping from her head and mouth-

Bottle-green eyes snapped open and closed again quickly. Happy thoughts, Chris reminded himself, happy thoughts. An image of Faith's smiling face came into view and he couldn't help but let his lips tilt into one as well. A warm and comforting feeling wrapped around him as he remembered how he and Faith had sent their time at Salizzoni's and Night Owl's and he didn't even remembered falling asleep.

* * *

Physical Education. A compulsory subject all through senior year at Baker High, but that was no worry to Chris as he entered the gym bright and early that Monday morning. He had heard from Mary that Faith wasn't in homeroom that morning but he had resisted the urge to orb over and see what was wrong. Jackson, Ben and Harry were tagging along behind him, Harry announcing that he needed a date for the weekend and Ben fussing over what to buy Emmalee for their six-month anniversary.

A sharp whistle settled down the loud gang of boys and Coach Hamilton strolled in front of them, his brown eyes taking in every student curiously. Coach Hamilton was one of the best male teachers around, as he had his own way of dealing with students. Instead of assigning detention, he would give any troublemakers 'afternoon training sessions' in which they ran laps around the school's football field. It was basically his way of saying, 'this is a detention but I am not telling the other teachers about it.'

Unfortunately for everyone, Physical Education had been post phoned until a few weeks into the term for reasons every teacher refused to tell.

"Okay boys, unfortunately, Miss Jameson has broken her leg so we will be sharing your lessons with the girl's physical Education."

Hoots and hollers surrounded the gym, echoing off walls as a single file line of females entered the gym in the traditional Baker High sport uniform. Long track pants and a short-sleeved top in the school colours of red and black and white.

"So, today we will be working on our basic fitness! Pair up!"

The boys rushed forward and a few girls hung back, giggling nervously. Several girls cast Chris glances and giggled and Harry looped an arm around a tall brunette's neck. Chris felt a rush of relief when he realized that Joy was in a different class at the moment. Emmalee, Mary and most of the Joy-ettes (much to Chris's female friends' displeasure) had taken Home Economics and were therefore assigned a different gym time.

As he looked around, Chris became aware that every other male had a partner and the only girls left were eyeing one another down, almost challenging each other to try and get paired with Chris.

"Ah, Miss Cullen!"

Chris's head whirled around at the name and saw Faith standing beside coach Hamilton, her hair pulled back from her face in the usual ponytail. Chris also noticed that instead of the short sleeved shirt the others girls had donned for the occasion, Faith's arms were covered from wrist to shoulder. The memory of his athame plunging through her body and the dullness in her eyes made him shudder, but he pushed it away.

"Faith!" he called happily, jogging over and taking her hand, "Partner me?"

Behind him, several girls broke out in jealous whispers of, '_Who is she? Have you seen her before? Look at her hairstyle!'_

"TEN LAPS!" Coach called, ignoring the groans he got from many students, "AND THEN WE START PAIR WORK!"

Chris and Faith started to jog, keeping a steady pace with one another.

"So, did you sleep in?" Chris asked with a touch too much interest in his voice. He didn't want Faith to think he was prying because that might let her on to the fact that he knew she was a demon. So, keeping his gaze friendly and non-accusatory, he waited for her answer.

"Uh, yeah. And traffic was terrible."

'_Lie.' _A voice in the back of Chris's mind hissed.

Chris could see dark shadows under her eyes that implied she had had very little sleep. He also noted that the way she was moving was rather awkward, but he figured it was probably more her lack of enthusiasm then anything else.

Faith knew that in her current predicament, actually participating in this class was probably very unwise, but sitting out would only cause question. As they completed the first lap, Faith prayed that Chris would pick up the conversation again and take her mind off her screaming lungs.

But, alas, they finished eight complete laps in silence before Faith feebly tried to start a conversation.

"So, what other classes do you have today?"

"Double Advanced Calculus, Advanced Chemistry and Modern History. You?" he replied, watching her out of the corner of his eye and seeing that she was obviously straining to keep up with his much longer strides. He slowed down a little, not making it obvious that he was doing so.

"Double Spare and Art." Faith replied, her voice becoming obviously happier when she said her last class for the day.

"Where do you spend your free periods?" Chris queried as they rounded their ninth lap, Chris becoming acutely aware that they were the last ones running. Normally he would have finished well ahead of anyone else but he kept pace with Faith and had noticed that it was not just her lack of enthusiasm holding her back, she was limping slightly but he did not want to pry.

"Art room or library. Art room today because Mr. Munroe just got in new canvases."

"Ah. Well, I used to have a spare but last week I traded it for another class. Advanced Trigonometry"

The look in Faith's eyes was priceless and Chris couldn't help but laugh, "What?"

"Crazy." Faith managed, collapsing on the floor as she finished her final lap, "You. Are. Crazy."

"CULLEN! HALLIWELL! One hundred sit ups, one hundred push ups" The coach barked to them. Faith fished inside her pocket and retrieved a white slip of paper before handing it to him. As brown eyes read it over, they seemed to glaze slightly and Chris narrowed his eyes when the coach lowered it, slightly dazed.

"You're excused from the sit-ups and push-ups, Faith. You can Mr. Halliwell here but you are excused."

Faith gave Chris a look and she sat up and shrugged as the Coach walked away.

"I have a bit of a bad back. So, want to start?" she asked, tilting her lips at the edges.

"Uh, sure. Just make sure I only do one hundred. Once Harry told me I had done one hundred and I had actually done one hundred and fifty."

Faith laughed quietly and Chris began his sit ups and she smiled, "Don't worry. Only one hundred, I would never make you do more, Chris. Trust me."

"I do." He said to her, looking into her smiling face. And he meant it.

* * *

The boys' locker room was full of noise as Chris stepped out from under the shower's spray and wrapped his towel around his waist. It had been a rather long lesson that had involved a myriad of physical activities. Although it had been long and grueling, Chris had found that some good had come from it. Harry had found himself a dinner date during the sit-up tests with his partner and Chris had discovered that Faith truly hated physical education when she had had to complete the obstacle course and shoot three baskets before being allowed to join in the final game and she was the only one left doing it. The final game of dodge ball had pushed her to her limit and she had finally just held her arm out in front of the oncoming object and gotten herself out of the game. As soon as she had walked out, the whispering among the girls had begun again and nobody could figure out who the girl was or where she had come from. But, as Chris had predicted, by the end of the game, nobody seemed to remember that Faith had even been there. One person even asked him if it sucked being alone to do all of the activities.

The conversation was deafening as he tugged his shirt over his shoulders but left it hanging open at the front as he pulled on his jeans.

"Hey! Halliwell!"

Chris inwardly groaned when he heard Blake Hayne's voice over all the rest. He was the nephew of Principal Hayne, and therefore could do no wrong in the school's boundaries. Blake was Joy's squeeze of the month and he had taken to the position quite well; taking over the leadership position of the male Joy-ettes.

"So, you and that freak on a leash! Never would have picked that!" he continued, his friends laughing as the rest of the chatter died down. Chris merely propped his foot on the seat and began to tie his shoelaces.

"Didn't figure her as the type. Seems to me like an art freak like her doesn't have much of a flair!"

A few boys were leaned up against the shower cubicles, brows furrowed and shrugging to each other as they asked one another whom Blake was talking about. They knew Chris had a girlfriend- but did she actually go to Baker High?

Chris finished his left shoe and moved to his right one, clenching his jaw and reminding himself that telekinetically throwing Blake Hayne across the locker rooms would be a bad thing.

"See, I figured you had better taste." Blake said again, now pleased with the attention he was getting from everyone. Ben, Jackson and Harry were watching their friend with obvious caution, knowing that Chris had a temper.

"Ooh! Well that Clara chick; she was fine!" Blake continued, his smug smile widening when he saw Chris's obvious pause. "I wouldn't have minded tapping that. So tell me…how was she in bed? Did you and her-"

He made a vulgar gesture with his hands and his friends jeered and laughed, Jackson and Ben tensed when they saw the muscle in Chris's jaw twitch. They didn't know if anything had happened between him and Clara; but they had the feeling that there had been something. Harry was watching his best friend with wide eyes, knowing that if Chris snapped, Blake might not make it out of here on two feet.

"That," Chris began in a dangerously low tone, "is none of your business."

"You did!" Blake hollered, clapping his hands together and laughing, "Shame she left, maybe I could have convinced her to move on to some _bigger_ things…if you get my drift."

Chris curled his hands around his towel beside him but settled for fixing up his shirt buttons instead of causing a fight. Blake, clearly not getting the reply he was looking for decided it was time to up the stakes.

"But that Cullen freak? Why the hell would you want her? Not really my type, I'd like something to actually grab! If you were going to pick someone, wouldn't you at least pick someone who isn't…shall we say…unnoticed? So, there has got to be some reason behind your choice?"

A few of the boys were whispering to each other again, still trying to figure out exactly whom the girl was they were talking about. Chris grabbed his bag and headed for the door, but was stopped in his track by the next words out of Blake's mouth.

"But hey- to each his own I guess. But I'll bet Cullen's a screamer."

In two seconds, a sickening crack sounded through the locker rooms, echoing off the shower stall tiles. Blake swore violently and Chris lowered his fist, anger boiling in his eyes. Jackson, Ben and Harry stepped forward, grabbing Chris's shoulders in case he tried anything again; but the brunette merely pulled away and stalked out of the locker rooms, hearing Blake push away his friends, warning them that if anyone repeated what had happened to anyone- they would get it.

Coach Hamilton saw Chris storm away, his fists clenched.

"Halliwell? What did-"

"I punched Blake in the jaw because he called my girlfriend a screamer." Chris cut him off monotonously, ready to accept any punishment his Coach would dish out.

The brown eyes of the thirty year old narrowed towards the now oddly silent locker room and he closed his eyes before rubbing his brow tiredly as the bell cut through the air.

"I am going to pretend I didn't hear that." He said finally, heading into the locker rooms to both assess the damage caused and tell the boys to hurry up and get to lunch.

Surprised with his luck, Chris leaned casually against the wall beside the girl's locker rooms and waited. As girl and girl exited, the occasional one sending him a flirtatious look, Chris glanced briefly at his knuckles and allowed his mind to wander.

"Chris?"

The boy in question looked up and found Faith looking at him intently; she frowned when her green eyes fell on his knuckles, tinged slightly with bruising from colliding with Blake's jawbone.

"What did you-"

"Nothing." Chris cut her off, smiling down at her before he swept in and kissed her cheek.

When he pulled back, Faith was pink with embarrassment, but she smiled brightly up at him.

"Why did you wait for me, you could have gone to lunch."

"You're my girlfriend; I waited." Chris replied, lacing their hands together and walking down the hall with Faith towards the lunchroom. As the walked, images of his nightmare flashed across his vision and turned his stomach to ice.

"Hold on, I'm going to stop at the bathroom for a second." Faith said, letting go of his hand and pushing the door open to the girl's bathroom.

The second the door swung closed, Faith cast her gaze around, checking to make sure she was really alone before standing in front of the large mirror and raising the hem of her baggy shirt slightly to expose her stomach and pushing up her sleeves.

Dark, shadowing bruises lined her stomach and her arms were beginning to bruise as well. Actually participating in physical education had been one of her stupider ideas but she figured that sitting out would only make Chris worry…and she had a feeling he suspected already. And Faith did not really want to think about what he would say if he knew. With her long index finger, Faith touched the bruise experimentally; wincing as pinpricks of pain shot through her. At least this time she had not bled as much as she had previously; bloodstains on clothing were very, very hard to explain- especially to a school counselor.

Lowering her sleeves and shirt; the black haired girl splashed her face with water and yawned. An odd noise sounded from behind her and she glanced up into the mirror curiously.

A sight of mattered black hair, long white fangs and leathery skin was all she saw before her body was slammed against the cold bathroom tiles…then nothing.

* * *

**A/N- Thanks to my reviewers from the last chapter, I love hearing your thoughts about my story! And I can't believe I am on to 74 reviews! 74! A big thanks to everyone who reviewed and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter includes Chris's dinner at the Cullen's…but does it end well? I also got myself a beta which is part of the reason this took so long as when I was finally done I gave my friend the copy and she read it over and very politely pointed out a huge plot hole in the chapter. So I had to rewrite the entire thing. So a big thanks to my beta and friend 10,000 Dead Roses for offering to read my chapters as long as I read hers.**

**And to anyone who may have been offended by the conversation in the locker room, I have the utmost respect for both males and females and I am aware that some may be offended by the way I portrayed some of my characters but I assure you that it is really just how these characters are and it does not in any way reflect how I see either gender.**


	12. Chapter 12

White light dazzled Faith's eyes when she slid them open, making her groan and close them immediately.

"Faith are you okay?" Chris's voice rang in her ears, his tone worried and frantic.

"Demon." She mumbled, opening her eyes and bringing up a small hand to block the offending light.

"When? Where?"

"Before, in here. I saw it in the mirror and then…" Faith frowned and bit her lip, her thoughts whirling her head.

"And then…" Chris prompted, helping her to stand. The bathroom was empty and still in its usual condition. There was no evidence of a demon attack; even Faith was relatively unharmed despite the bruise forming on the side of her temple.

"I don't remember." Faith said honestly, standing up and feeling her legs buckle underneath her. With a soft squeak she felt her body drop, only to have warm hand catch her and bring her to her feet.

"Whoa, easy."

Faith stood on shaking legs, her arm looped around Chris's neck and her eyes dotted with small black spots.

"You're in the girl's bathroom," she said, suddenly noticing her surroundings.

"Well I heard something, and I said your name from outside and you didn't reply so…"

"Oh. Okay."

"After school, I need you to come home with me, and we can look for the Demon you saw in the Book. That way we can hopefully find out what it wanted."

Faith touched her forehead slowly, blinking to clear the small black spots in her vision.

"Good idea… we should probably get to lunch."

With Chris's arm securely around her small waist, Faith made her way to the door, looking over at the mirror where she had seen the demon in the back of her reflection. A chill ripped through her, causing her shudder briefly. Chris's arm gently tightened around her and Faith couldn't help but smile at the feeling… she felt safe in Chris's arms, like nothing could go wrong.

Lunch went by as usual, Harry was sitting with his date for the weekend, tilting back on his chair and making the brunette girl in front of him giggle as he spoke, Emmalee and Mary chatted to Faith about their classes, and how things were going while Ben and Jackson played bagel hockey across the table, Ben accidentally knocking over an entire can of soda with a especially enthusiastic whack to the poor defenseless bagel.

Chris, however, brooded quietly over his questionable meal of what appeared to either be Mac and cheese or oddly coloured meatloaf. Every so often, his eyes would flick to faith and his lips would tilt up into a smile. She was becoming at ease with her surroundings little by little, involving herself more with people.

But today's demon attack… it bothered him. ANY demon attack would have bothered him for that matter, but something about this one had him one edge. The demon had not attacked, while in any other case this would have been something of a miracle, this particular event struck Chris as odd, and the feeling deep in his stomach told him that something about this was not right. He just couldn't wait until the day ended and he could return to the manor and the Book of Shadows to help Faith identify the demon, and see what they were up against.

Chris's green eyes turned on Faith again and he couldn't help but smile. Across the cafeteria, Blake Hayne was clearly nursing his jaw, which had begun to swell and bruise. The slight shadow across Chris's knuckles had been worth it. Unable to help it, Chris suddenly leant across the table and kissed Faith's cheek. Faith gave a quiet gasp and then smiled up at him, ignoring the "ooohs" they got from the surrounding surveyors.

"I'll pick you up outside your homeroom and we can go back to the manor?" he asked, touching her small arm gently.

"Sure." Faith replied as the bell sounded shrilly, signaling the end of lunch and the beginning of third period.

* * *

"MOM! We're home!" Chris's voice rang through the empty walls of the manor as the two stepped inside, one with confidence and a sense of normalcy while the other held back slightly, looking around carefully before stepping slowly over the threshold.

"MOM?"

When no reply was forthcoming Chris shrugged casually. Between P3, Halliwell's restaurant and her kick-ass power of three job; it wasn't unusual for Chris to come home and find his mother had gone. Leo was often taking in stray handy man jobs around the city and Wyatt… well, though he had an apartment it was odd that he wasn't home.

"Wyatt?"

"In here!" came the reply from the conservatory, Chris heart unclenching at the sound of his big brother's voice. After the events of his 14th birthday, it still worried him when nobody responded to his calls.

"Cummon, Faith." Chris said, taking her hand with a slight smile. Shyly accepting the offered hand, Faith fell into step with Chris and entered the conservatory, giggling when she found the almighty Twice Blessed building a house of cards on top of his college textbooks, a look of utmost concentration on his face. At the sound, Wyatt looked up and his handsome face broke into a grin.

"Hello Faith."

"Hey," Chris said playfully, tossing his bag at the house and watching Wyatt telekinetically fling it away, "what about me?"

Wyatt laughed smoothly, adding the final card before smiling triumphantly. "Well, I would have been happy to see you, had you not tried to destroy the card house that took me two painstaking hours to build."

Chris laughed and Faith's stomach flipped over, she felt as though she were intruding, so she coughed hesitantly.

"So, what do I owe the pleasure of my little brother and his perfect and far too good for him girlfriend?"

"We need to look up a demon that attacked Faith today in the Book." Chris cleared up for him, taking Faith's hand and heading out of the conservatory and towards the stairs. In a flash, Wyatt was following them, pulling Faith back and checking her for any injuries.

"What demon? Why didn't you call me? Were you hurt?"

"I dunno what demon, I didn't call you because there was nothing wrong and the demon got away and no, Faith wasn't hurt."

Wyatt eyed Faith up and down, as though double checking she wasn't harmed in any way. Once he appeared satisfied he nodded slowly and waved at his younger brother.

"I'd check it out now, mom was supposed to be home half an hour ago but she said she got a bit caught up so I don't know how long she will be and you don't want her finding out about the attack…she'll freak out."

"Good point," Chris agreed, punching his brother's shoulder affectionately and taking Faith's hand.

"Bye Faith!" Wyatt called as she left the room.

"Goodbye Wyatt," she called back, looking over her shoulder with a small smile.

As he watched the pair disappear up the long staircase, Wyatt smiled to himself and shook his head.

"Oh my baby brother has a girlfriend and I am single…what is the world coming to?" he joked to himself, staring at his tower of cards. The way Chris and Faith looked together was almost too sweet.

* * *

The Halliwell attic was probably something that many witches dreamed of seeing. As Faith crossed the threshold several paces behind Chris she drank in the details of the small room. The attic at her home was full of cobwebs and several spiders that appeared to be able to devour her in one gulp, but this room seemed to be used almost daily. A thud had Faith's eyes flicking up in seconds, searching for the source of the noise.

Chris stood in front of The Book of Shadows, turning each page very calmly. His green eyes glanced upwards and he beckoned her over.

"We need to identify the demon that attacked you and hopefully figure out why it did it so I need you to describe it as best you can."

Chris again motioned for her to join him by the Book but Faith's mind was far from the attic. The Book of Shadows was mere _footsteps_ from her, if she could get to it and get what it was she needed…

No.

She wouldn't…she couldn't. Surely a Book as powerful as it would have some kind of protection against bad intentions?

Faith hung back from the Book apprehensively, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Come on," Chris beckoned with his fingers and motioned to the Book, "you need to help me identify the demon."

"It won't…zap me or anything…will it?"

The question weighed heavy in her mind now, she had heard stories from magical folk that some magical tomes rejected those with bad intentions towards it. And her intentions were anything but saintly.

Chris raised an eyebrow and shook his head, but couldn't help the words that slipped from his lips, "Only if you're a demon."

There, he had said it. He waited for Faith to lash out, demonize and tear him to pieces; or for her to stammer out something and hide. But she remained emotionless as she hesitantly stepped forward and carefully stroked her fingers down the page. Her almost silent sigh of relief was exactly that- _almost_ silent. Chris heard it and almost sensed the tension surrounding Faith subside.

Faith experimentally flipped the pages and sighed. How could she get what she was after without Chris asking questions? Her answer came almost instantly, as a holler from downstairs echoed up through the stairway. Chris, who was used to these occurrences, grabbed two green potions on the table and gave Faith a look.

"Stay here, if anything comes in, call." He told her firmly before racing down the stairs.

Faith knew she had only seconds, if she was lucky. Page after page moved under her fingers until it finally lay open on what she needed. Her gut twisted and ached with what she was doing. She had such bad intentions, what if the Book did something to her? The noises downstairs had stopped and Faith could hear soft murmuring. With a heavy heart, Faith tore out the page, flinching at the loud noise it made. She had probably just torn a page out of the most valuable good magical tome in the Wiccan world; but if this potion did what it said it did and this spell did what it was supposed to, Chris would never even have to know her secret; she would never have to hurt him.

Creasing the yellowing paper carefully, she tucked it into her jeans pocket just as footsteps ascended the stairs.

* * *

Chris entered the attic, his hands empty. The demons had been reduced to dust seconds after he had arrived downstairs and tossed the potions to Wyatt. Faith was turning pages still, very calmly for someone who had just watched her boyfriend dash down the stairs after a possible demon.

"Did you find it?" Chris asked her when he reached the podium.

Faith's eyes flicked up with a startled gasp and she jerked back, stepping away from the aged tome.

"Whoa! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you heard me."

Trying to calm her racing heart, Faith smiled nervously, "It is okay, I guess I just got a little immersed in the Book. I never knew there were this many magical creatures."

Chris smiled at her, watching her hands hit every page unharmed. He knew that demons had tricked the Book before, but again, a calming feeling settled in his chest and he knew that Faith was not doing anything bad. He would wait for her to tell him; there was probably an explanation for whatever was going on. He would wait until she was ready.

"I think I found the demon," Faith said, breaking the brunette from his thoughts, "it was a minor level… Creeper?"

"Creeper?" Chris asked confusion in his voice.

"Uhm, yeah. It fit the profile of one. The looks and stuff. Is that a problem?"

Chris looked over Faith's shoulder at the picture on the yellowing page.

"Creepers are hired guns. They attack the people they are told to attack."

"But I wasn't attacked? I just…looked up and it was there… it didn't even hurt me,"

The brunette paced the floor, his brow furrowed deep in thought. Deep inside his stomach part of him felt as though this demon hadn't been sent to harm Faith in any way… it had been sent to make a message clear. Demons knew about his relationship with her, the Underworld knew that she was precious and that she could be used to get to him… and they wouldn't stop at any opportunity that was presented to them.

"Chris?"

Faith's quiet voice jerked him out of his thoughts and Chris shook his head, "oh, it's nothing I just…"

Chris explained his theory to her, watching as her eyes grew wide in fear and confusion.

'You- you think that someone sent the demon after ME… to make a point to YOU?"

"It's happened before," Chris explained, "One of Wyatt's girlfriends was attacked by a demon sent to make a point that the Underworld knew that she was something precious to him."

"Oh."

Millions of thought raced through faith's head all at once, each contradicting the other, some telling her to stay strong, be brave; while others told her to go with her gut instinct and run, run, run as fast as she could.

"It's a lot to take in," Chris said hurriedly, sensing that Faith might be border lining into freaking out, "But don't worry, Wyatt and I will find this demon and send a message of our own to the Underworld… you're not getting hurt because of me."

Faith nodded slowly, her mind still running a hundred miles a minute. She didn't even register her cell phone ringing in her pocket until Chris pointed it out to her. Fumbling for a moment, Faith glanced at the caller ID and her stomach froze, she couldn't answer that call here of all places. Her eyes frantically searched for a clock and saw the time 4:15 in glowing red… oh god she had forgotten about where she was supposed to be. Her thumb shakily hit the "Ignore Call" button and the petite girl stepped back.

"Oh, it's um, my dad… he probably wants to know where I am… I was supposed to be home early and I totally forgot to tell him I was coming here, he is probably freaking out."

Chris swallowed, "Oh, right…well you can go if you have to, Wyatt and I will track down this demon."

"Thanks, Chris, I really appreciate this."

Chris shook his head with a smile and kissed her soundly, "no problem, Faith. Really, go home; your dad is probably really worried."

Faith lowered her head, red streaking across her cheeks lightly, "Bye Chris."

"…Goodbye Faith." He smiled at her as she left the attic, her feet making barely any noise on the stairs. Chris turned her emerald eyes to the Book of Shadows and his chest filled with warmth as the memory of Faith's hands hitting the pages unharmed entered his mind.

Unnoticed by him as he closed the Book, were the jagged remains of a torn page buried deep within the thick pages.

Outside the manor, faith slid into the driver's seat of her small car, finally hitting the "Answer" button on her cell, having ignored the 3 successive calls as she had walked down the stairs and out the door.

"Hello?... yes, I'll be there… no, I was tied up… don't start with me… I've been doing this for years, I know a hell of a lot more then you do!... no… I'm sorry I just… I'll be there… good bye"

Faith impatiently slammed her cell phone shut, hitting her hands against the steering wheel with an impatient groan.

Deep in her pocket, the folded up page of the Book of Shadows felt like lead, weighing her down like her guilty conscience. But this would work, she could fix this… and Chris would never have to know.

* * *

Faith's parents were out and the house was dark. The only light coming from the Cullen residence was the dim lighting of the kitchen where the only daughter of Tanya Faye and John Mitchell Cullen was brewing a potion. It was not the first time she had brewed a potion, her mother had taught her how to make simple potions when she was younger, but this was the first time she had ever attempted anything this big.

"Burdock Root, Dill, Rosemary." Faith mumbled to herself, tossing in the ingredients and stirring the bubbling mixture three times clockwise. This had to work; she needed it out of her. She couldn't live like this anymore.

Faith's trembling hands dropped the final ingredient into the mixture and it turned smoking purple, exactly the colour described on the paper. With her heart hammering in her chest, Faith picked up the spell and ran her eyes across the creased page.

What happened next happened so fast that Faith barely had time to register what it was. The potion suddenly turned black and tar-like before it melted away into nothingness.

"No." Faith whispered to herself, realization sinking into her chest with an unforgiving pain. She had worried over this for so long, every step she had done was with baited breath of this happening. The page in her hand began to melt away before it crumbled into dust at her feet with Faith hitting the ground on her knees.

Personal gain.

The personal gain consequences of what she was doing finally hit her. It wasn't going to work. She was going to have to stay…like this.

A scream of rage sliced through the still air and Faith rose from her knees, only to sink back down on them when pain sliced through her abdomen. She was loosing control, God she couldn't lose control here. Not with her parents coming home any minute. She didn't want them to walk through the door to find her like that.

Gritting her teeth, Faith gasped in air and calmed herself down, almost immediately feeling the pain subside and her control come back. Heat pricked behind her closed lids and she sniffed quietly.

She couldn't change what was happening to her.

What was going to happen to her.

She was going to hurt Chris.

She deserved everything she was going to get, all the pain she was going to suffer…

She knew better than to fall for him.

In the Halliwell manor, the ripped page rematerialized and merged back with its torn piece in a golden haze, unnoticed in the empty room.

* * *

It was seven o'clock on Thursday morning when Chris's cell phone began to blare. As Chris was usually awake and getting ready at five thirty, this would usually not be a problem, but seeing as he had inadvertently left his phone in his older brother's room the night before after they had finished vanquishing the Creeper that had attacked Faith and they had successfully dodged their mother…Wyatt was less then impressed. Reaching out from underneath the covers, the blond's muscled arm came in contact with the smooth covering of his brother's cell phone.

"Hello?" he answered groggily, his mind fogged with sleep and the remnants of what had been a rather odd dream revolving around marshmallow demons and a hungry walrus.

"…Wyatt?"

The voice was familiar, but not one Wyatt could immediately place, though he knew it was female. The blond sat up and ruffled his hair with one hand before yawning.

"Yeah, who is this?"

"It's Faith."

Wyatt's cerulean eyes snapped open and all trace of sleep disappeared, "Ah, Faith, good morning."

There was a giggle from the other end before Faith began to speak, "May I enquire as to why you are answering Chris's phone? Is he busy?"

"No, he just left it in my room. I could grab him if you like?"

"Oh, uh, could you tell him I won't be at school until Friday? Some stuff has come up kind of last minute and-"

"Are you okay?" Wyatt asked, abruptly cutting her off.

Silence came from her end before Faith continued, "Oh, I'm fine; my mom has just gotten a bit sick and I need to look after her until Friday when she can see a doctor."

"Oh, good, you had me worried for a moment Faith." Wyatt laughed good-naturedly.

Chris wandered into Wyatt's room, backpack slung over his shoulder. He was going to school early to finish up a paper and maybe run into Faith, but his mother had asked him to wake Wyatt first. Having heard talking coming from his big brother's room, Chris wondered if Wyatt was sleep-talking again.

"…Worried for a moment Faith." Wyatt laughed as Chris entered the room. Chris's eyes narrowed at the sight of his older brother propped up against the pillows, happily chatting his younger brother's girlfriend on HIS cell phone.

Wyatt caught sight of Chris and grinned broadly, "hey, Faith, Chris just walked in the room…you wanna talk to him?"

"Give me my cell phone." Chris demanded, holding out his hand, that look on Wyatt's face meant there could be no good anytime soon.

"Haha, Goodbye Faith." Wyatt said, holding over the phone to his younger brother and flopping back onto his pillows with a content sigh.

"Ah…to be young again," he murmured sleepily, before closing his eyes and falling back to sleep.

Out in the hall, Chris paced nervously as he spoke with Faith. In his mind, the same thought was running at hyper speed

She is not a demon She is not a demon She is not a demon She is not a demon She is not a demon She is not a demon She is not a demon She is not a demon She is not a demon She is not a demon She is not a demon She is not a demon She is not a demon She is not a demon…

"…mom just needs someone there for her. I will see you Friday though, I promise."

Chris blinked; apparently it was his turn to speak. He had immersed himself in his thoughts shortly after she said her mother was sick but now it seemed as though she were waiting for his reply.

"Uh…okay."

"Thanks Chris, I knew you would understand. My parents would still like you to come to dinner Friday night though."

_She is not a DEMONDEMONDEMONDEMONDEMON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

"Of course I will be there Faith."

A muffled voice came from behind Faith and there were a few rustles and some rattles before Faith's voice returned clearly.

"I have to go Chris, I will talk to you Friday."

"Good-bye Faith."

The call disconnected and Chris sighed heavily, leaning against the wall and pressing his forehead to the cool surface.

"She is not a demon." He said firmly. "Her mother is sick and she is taking care of her."

"_Or taking care of innocents as she slaughters them without mercy…" _a sly voice in his head interrupted his denial.

"Not. A demon." He murmured to himself, shaking his head and heading down the stairs.

Meanwhile, Faith closed her small black cell phone and heaved a heavy sigh, her eyes darting around for anyone who may have seen her make the call. Footsteps rapidly approached her and the teen quickly thrust the phone into the pocket of her black jeans. As she did, a tall man rounded the corner, his long coat swinging slightly as he did so. Dark eyes surveyed her carefully before he began to speak.

"Does he know?"

"No."

"If he finds out-"

"He WON'T."

"Faith, this is a delicate situation here, I don't think you understand what could happen if this goes wrong…"

"I DO UNDERSTAND!!!"

The man raised his eyebrow but nodded slowly.

"Very well. Shall we begin?"

"…Yes"

* * *

The day passed far too slowly for Chris's liking… Faith had said she would call him if anything went wrong, Faith had said she just needed to take care of her mother until tomorrow.

He had no classes with her on Friday.

Damn.

There was lunch…

But he had a detention for correcting his advanced Physics teacher, who apparently felt that a seventeen year old pointing out a simple mistake he had made was some grand felony.

Damn again.

But he knew he could see her at her locker that morning at least. As soon as that thought entered his mind, Chris's face broke into a grin…

Faith.

He would freely admit it; he was really falling for Faith. There was just something about her that made him feel so happy. He had never been unlucky in love, to be honest. Sure he had liked girls that had no interest in him but it was never as though he'd had nobody. Granted, Clara had been his only long-term relationship but he had dated girls before. But there was something about Faith that he hadn't felt for other girls before.

Friday came and Chris all but flew down the staircase of the manor, breezing past his mother and grabbing two pancakes, devouring them both in six bites before pressing a small kiss onto his mother's cheek and disappearing out the door, the sound of his car starting barely seconds later. Inside the kitchen, Piper Halliwell smiled to herself as she rinsed off the cooking utensils.

Her baby boy was so grown up…

Chris's sneakers squealed on the floors of Baker High as the brunette stopped in front of his girlfriend's locker. He had already been to his and collected all the books he would need, so now… he would wait.

As it turned out, he didn't need to wait long as five minutes later Faith appeared at the end of the hall, her nose buried between the pages of a very thick book.

"Faith."

Startled, faith glanced up, her face brightening when she saw Chris standing before her.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Chris pecked her cheek and casually leaned against the locker beside Faith's as she spun in her combination.

"So, is your mom okay?"

"Oh, yeah, she's going to the doctor's surgery today just for a check-up. She's really looking forward to tonight."

"So am I, I need to prove to your father that I'm not some crazy, hormone driven time bomb."

Faith laughed quietly, "Good luck with that, he has it firmly set in his mind that you are set out to make his life hell by dating his only daughter."

Chris laughed along with her and the two began to pace the halls slowly, discussing everything from books and music, to school and and the two began to pace the halls slowly, their discussions slowly dissolving into a peaceful silence.

"Wyatt and I killed the…the demon." Chris told her, looking around and lowering his voce at the last two words.

"Oh," Faith said, lowering her tone to match his own, "that's good…but… do you think there will be anymore?"

Chris raked a hand through his brown mass of hair; he really did need to have it cut now that he thought about it, but now was not the time to think of such a thing.

"Maybe, Wyatt and I aren't too sure right now, but we think killing the Creeper demon would have sent our own message to the Underworld that if anyone messes with you they're in for some trouble."

Faith blushed under her boyfriends gaze and he smiled down at her.

"I'm not gonna let any demon get to you, and right now our theory might not have even been right, but we're taking all the precautions necessary."

"That's… that's good." Faith whispered, clutching her books self consciously to her chest and lowering her head, causing long strands of black hair to cover her eyes.

Chris's fingers reached out and pushed away the strands, tucking them behind faith's ear. For a moment, she simply looked up at him with confusion, but then without warning she wrapped her arms around his neck and leant her head against his chest.

"Thank-you Chris."

Taken aback, Chris merely patted her back softly before returning the hug. "No problem Faith."

Faith pulled back and the pair resumed a silence, the only noise being the thudding of feet and chatter of students,

The bell rang sharp and clear, breaking the pair out of their stupor, Faith coughed and gestured down the hall, where many students were milling around, trying not to be late for their homeroom class.

"I'd better go… I'll see you tonight though, right?"

"Six o'clock, I will be there," Chris promised, taking faith's small hands in his. Unable to help himself, he bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. He quickly pulled back and smiled at his girlfriend, "see you later Faith, have a good day."

Turning on his heel the brunette disappeared through the crowd towards his homeroom class. Lost among the many students, faith sighed heavily as two burly seniors stumbled into her and walked away without apologizing.

"A good day? Yeah… maybe…"

* * *

At six o'clock sharp Friday night, Chris was waiting patiently outside of the Cullen residence. His day had passed without incident, and he was looking forward to the dinner tonight, not just because he got to see Faith, but because it was his chance to prove to her father that he was more than a senseless hormone bomb. John Cullen pulled the door open and Chris greeted him with a smile. John eyed him suspiciously and opened his mouth as though to speak when Tanya came up behind him, gently resting her hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Hello Christopher," she said in a soft and calming tone that reminded Chris of his mother. They shook hands and as Chris entered the living room John finally spoke.

"Christopher."

"Sir." Chris answered immediately, outstretching his hand towards the tall, gray haired man.

John Cullen was impressed by the young man's firm handshake but the dancing mischief in his eyes was not something he cared for. Light footsteps hit the stairs as Faith came down from her room, her eyes frantic when she saw the glint in her father's eye. John watched Chris's face light up when Faith entered the room and his face softened at the boy's affections.

"Chris," Faith greeted shyly, stepping forward awkwardly and taking his hand.

"Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes, so how about we all sit down and talk?" Tanya suggested, wanting to rid the room of the tension she could feel building up from her husband.

As everyone settled onto the plush sofas, Chris nervously twisted his hands. Demons he could handle, life threatening situations he could handle… an ex police officer whose only daughter was going out with him…

Chris didn't think he could handle that.

"So-" John began, a firm edge in his voice that made Chris's stomach twist.

"How are you tonight Chris?" Tanya interrupted her husband, giving Chris a warm smile from where he sat beside Faith who had tensed noticeably when her father had spoken.

"I am doing very well, thank-you Mrs. Cullen. How are you doing? Faith mentioned you weren't feeling well, I hope you're doing better."

A brief flicker of confusion crossed the light brown eyes of Faith's mother, so quickly Chris could almost believe he had imagined it.

Almost

The flicker was gone as soon as it had come, but in that moment Chris knew Faith had lied about her whereabouts all week.

"Oh, yes, I'm doing much better now Christopher, thank you for asking."

She gave a soft smile and the tightening knot in Chris's stomach loosened a little, at least he only had one parent to try and convince that he wasn't the spawn of Satan.

Faith shifted beside him, the silence beginning to settle into awkwardness before John coughed and began to speak.

"So, boy-"

"Chris." Faith corrected her father, gently touching the side of Chris's hand as she spoke. He smiled to himself and brushed his fingers over her knuckles before lacing their fingers together, a movement that did not go unnoticed by either of her parents.

John eyed their linked hands for a moment before bringing his icy blue eyes to Chris's green ones.

"So… _Chris…"_

"Dinner is ready," Mrs. Cullen announced as a small buzzing emitted from the kitchen.

John looked over at his wife and stood slowly, nodding at Chris in a clear gesture to follow. Faith turned to him as they entered the dining room, the table set out perfectly, and mouthed the words _'I'm sorry' _but Chris only smiled… meeting the parents who thought you were set out to make their life hell all came with the territory of being a boyfriend, and Faith was worth whatever John would throw at him…

* * *

Chris could feel two pairs of eyes on him as he ate, and he sensed that Faith could feel them too. He wasn't worried about Tanya, she seemed to like him and he enjoyed making conversation with her…John was the problem. In true 'Daddy' fashion, he was treating Chris like the prime suspect in a murder case and watching his every move.

It didn't help that John had once been a police officer.

"So, Christopher," John began in gruff tones that had everyone freezing. Chris heard Faith's soft whisper of 'oh god' but he looked up into the piercing eyes of his girlfriend's father.

"Yes Mr. Cullen?"

"What are your grades like at school?"

"I am an A student." He replied confidently, but with a touch of modesty that had John loosening his tightly coiled muscles.

"And your future plans?"

"Daddy-" Faith began, only to have Chris cut her off with a reassuring smile.

"I want to be a social worker, I enjoy helping people; but I am also looking down a magical teaching position path part-time."

"Hm."

Chris wasn't sure if that response was good or bad but he decided to not question anything. John was racking his brain for questions to give to this boy who had taken the heart of his only daughter. But seeing the pleading gaze Faith was giving him and the raised eyebrow being directed by his wife he decided to ask one final question he had been meaning to ask the boy for a long while.

"Play any sport?" he asked, a hint of a smile curving onto his lips.

Chris grinned broadly and laughed, "Well actually, yeah…"

* * *

It was nearly ten o'clock when Chris stepped out onto the porch with Faith and her parents in tow. Dinner and desert had been wonderful and despite Tanya's protests, Chris had assisted with the cleaning and stacking of dishes.

"It was lovely to officially meet you Christopher." Tanya said warmly and shaking his hand.

"You too Mrs. Cullen."

"Call me Tanya," she insisted with a smile and a gentle pat of his hand.

John grabbed Chris's hand and shook it firmly, "Boy."

"Sir."

"Drive safe." Tanya said cautiously.

"I will," Chris promised, placing his hands into his pockets and absently toying with what he had brought over with the intention of giving Faith, "thank-you for a wonderful evening."

Tanya disappeared inside and John eyed his daughter carefully.

"Five minutes." He warned her, shooting Chris a glance. They may have been civil tonight at dinner but now he was back to being his baby girl's boyfriend…

And that meant trouble.

"Yes, Daddy."

The door closed as John retreated and Faith turned to Chris.

"Okay, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be."

Chris laughed and Faith's face broke into a smile.

"It was fine, meeting the parents comes with the package and I am more then happy to sit through dinner if it means having you as my girlfriend."

Red tinted across Faith's face and she hung her head, her hair falling into her face. With soft fingers, Chris pushed it out of her eyes and lifted her chin up to meet his gaze.

"I have something for you."

Chris entwined their fingers and led her to the porch swing where he removed the small piece of twine from his pocket. Two see-through beads glinted in the porch light and Faith frowned in confusion.

"What's this for? It's pretty but I didn't get you anything."

Chris smiled and took her wrist in his hand, noting how small and fragile it seemed in his palm.

"It's for protection." He explained, tying a knot on it but keeping her hand in his palm.

"I made them all the time when I was little to keep the demons under my bed away," he told her with no trace of embarrassment, "the twine symbolizes strength and the beads are pure and see through to keep you invisible from demons."

Faith looked down at the bracelet on her wrist and Chris hurriedly continued.

"I mean, it isn't a fool-proof protection charm or anything and it probably doesn't work but as a kid I always said that I'd give one to the people I wanted protected so I figured I should give you one seeing as how demons seem to be after you because of me…you can take it off if you want."

"I love it." She insisted, touching the beads and rolling them under her fingertips. A warm feeling was fluttering in her chest and she giggled.

"What?" Chris asked with a smile, as Faith raised her head and looked him in the eye.

Faith took a deep breath and leaned forward, bringing her lips to Chris's in a bold gesture. For a moment, Chris froze completely; Faith had never kissed him before, he had always been the one to initiate contact. Bringing his hand to her cheek he returned the gesture, pulling Faith closer to him before boldly deepening the kiss. Faith's head swam when she felt Chris's lips gently push against her bottom one before he deepened the kiss and she shyly followed his lead. Minutes ticked by before Faith pulled away, her heart thudding embarrassingly loud.

"Thank-you." She said, her voice slightly dazed.

"You're welcome."

"Faith!" a deep voice called from inside.

"I should probably go," Chris said regretfully, wishing he could stay.

"See you Monday," Faith said softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek quickly and ducking her head.

"Goodnight Faith, sweet dreams." Chris whispered to her as he pulled her into a warm hug.

"Goodnight Chris." Faith said, her voice trembling slightly.

Chris climbed into his car, his chest feeling light and his mind swimming. Everything was perfect; as he pulled out of the driveway he brought his hand up to his lips for a brief moment before his face broke into a grin.

Definitely perfect.

Back at the Cullen residence, a pair of frosty blue eyes allowed the curtain to drop back to the window, cutting off the image of Faith sitting on the porch swing with a smile across her features as she toyed with a piece of twine wrapped around her wrist.

John Cullen sunk into an armchair in front of the television, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

This could not end well.

* * *

**A/N- okay, I'm going to be honest with you guys. My update on this chapter took forever and it was a pretty lousy update. And there are several contributing factors to that. First off, some of you may know that 10,000 dead Roses is sick. Well, we are really great friends and we've known each other basically since we were born. And secondly, a few weeks after I posted the last chapter I was diagnosed with depression and several other things so my will to write just went down the drain. I will not abandon this story; I promise but if I go months without updating that is probably why. Add mounting schoolwork and it's a little complicated. But I love my readers and my reviewers and it makes me so happy to see my inbox full of kind reviews, alerts and favourites. By the way, this hasn't been beta-read as my beta is currently sick so please excuse any errors? Thank you so much to the people who have stuck by me even after me disgustingly long absence and very poor chapter…**


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